Influenza
by LadyRaider
Summary: EPILOGUE NOW UP! Olivia catches the flu and is ordered by the Captain to take her accumulated sick days, but when it becomes worse than normal who's going to be there to help her through it? EO
1. Chapter One

**Title: Influenza**

**Summary: Olivia catches the flu and is ordered by the Captain to take her accumulated sick days, but when it becomes worse than normal who's going to be there to help her through it? **

**Paring: Oh, like this is a hard guess, I've you've read any of my previous stories you'll know it's gotta be EO.**

**Disclaimer: The show isn't mine, the flu isn't mine, and the basic concept of getting sick isn't mine, either. Basically, I only have the idea, I don't even think that there is going to be any original characters (but, If you do see one somewhere along the way, it's mine). Adding on to that, I make no profit off of this story, at least not in money (I'm hoping that I will profit with reviews, however). Anywho, on with the story.**

**A/N: Got the idea for this story by (queue drum roll) ... ... ... getting my flu shot! I'm really not at risk of catching it myself, but my mom is at high risk of getting it, since she's an MA and works at a hospital. So she will come in contact with people with the influenza virus on a regular basis, then she could bring it home where my sisters or I could catch it. Which is why tonight she brought home the shot and gave it to us. Gotta say, it didn't hurt to get the shot, and I (like always) watched the needle go in and all, felt a bit of a prick but nothing more. However, afterwards was a different story, who knew that stuff made your arm feel like lead? I surely didn't...anyway, I'm feeling better now and up to typing (after half an hour, so the effects don't even last long). Too bad she thought to give it to me in my left arm (I'm right handed), so I won't have an excuse to get out of work tomorrow. Darn. Anyway, on with the story.**

**A/N 2: Ok... so I realize that this story is way behind normal time. That's because I started writing it in November and I'm just now finished with it and posting it...**

**XXXX**

_November 3, 2004_

Every muscle in her body ached as she sat down in front of her desk to work. Her head was pounding with such an intensity it was a chore to even keep her eyes open and she couldn't breath out of her nose, but nonetheless she was going to work. A feeling of lightheadedness washed over her as she focused on the paperwork sitting on her desk, she was beginning to wish she had taken more than just two Dayquil, even if that was the recommended dosage. She could already tell today was going to be long and rough, she wasn't looking forward to the coming hours.

"Olivia?" Somebody called out to her. After thinking it over she decided that the voice belonged to Captain Cragen. Wondering what he was doing in the bullpen she turned and looked in the direction his voice had come from.

"Captain?" She questioned, her voice sounding nasal. "What's up?"

"You..." He said, "That's the problem."

The statement confused her, "Huh?"

"You're sick," he told her. When she tried to protest he cut her off, "Don't even try and argue with me, you look terrible. Go home, sleep ... you won't get any better sitting here straining over paperwork."

"Captain," she argued, "I'm fine."

"Olivia, I'm ordering you to take a sick day, no make that two sick days. If you're not better by then you will continue to take sick days until you are. I am not going to send a sick detective out on the streets, especially with it so close to winter. So ... go home and sleep."

Not having the strength to argue further she gave in, picked up some files and started to leave the room.

He followed her and took the files from her arms, "No, no work."

"Just a few," she said, reaching to take them back. He shook his head and she once again gave up, "Alright, I'm going." Grabbing her jacket and bag she took out her keys to drive home.

"Elliot is going to take you," Cragen told her. "You don't look well enough to drive." He turned around to address Elliot, "Go take her home, make sure she goes to bed, you've got an hour and a half."

He nodded and stood up from his desk, grabbing his coat in the process. He nodded at Olivia and they left the precinct.

When they got into his car she laid the seat back and leaned with it, closing her eyes to keep the headache at bay. She cursed the uneven roads as they passed over bump after pothole after bump, each making her nausea rise. After a few minutes they reached a red light and he used the opportunity to start a conversation.

"How long have you been feeling sick?"

She opened one eye to look at him, but quickly shut it when the sunlight sent a wave of pain through her head; the pounding was getting more intense by the second. "Uhh..." she thought back, "Tuesday."

"It's Thursday." He said as if she hadn't already known so.

"Yeah," she snapped, "and what exactly is your point!"

"My point," he replied as the light turned green. "Is that if you have been sick since Tuesday what were you doing at work yesterday?"

"Working." She said nonchalantly. "What do you think I was doing?"

He opened his mouth to say something, but thinking better of it closed his mouth again and just kept driving. When he pulled into a spot in front of her apartment complex he glanced over at her, she was staring out the window at the building. "We're here." He said, causing her to turn and look at him, her eyes were puffy and her face looked pale. "Are you ok, Olivia? You look ... like hell."

"Well," she sighed. "That's a big step up from the shit that I feel like."

He smiled at her vain attempt at humor; "You don't get sick often, do you?"

She shook her head, "Almost never."

He turned off his car and took the keys from the ignition. Opening the door he stepped out onto the road, Olivia did the same. She was still leaning against the car door when he walked around, her eyes barely open. He reached out to her and she flinched, her eyes jolting open, darting around. "I'm fine," she growled.

He threw his hands up in defense, "Alright ... I believe you."

She slammed the door shut with a surprising amount of force and glared at him. But, where she had proven that she had enough strength to slam a door she had also proven that slamming doors was as far as her strength went when she tried to walk. She stumbled and would have fallen if Elliot had not seen her falter and rushed to her side to hold her up. When she regained her balance she tried to push him away, but he kept hold of her.

"Oh, no you don't." He told her, "I'm going to help you, whether you like it or not."

She sighed, giving in, but still backed out of his arms and opted for him to hold on to her arm instead. He didn't protest and they very slowly walked in the building and up the stairs to her apartment. When they reached her door she fumbled for her keys, cursing as she dropped them on the floor. She began to bend down to pick it up, clenching her jaw through the pain that went shooting through her lower back as well as her head. Elliot noticed and offered to pick up the keys for her, having much less of a hard time doing so. She snatched them back from his hands and made it a point to use the right key on the first try, opening the door to her apartment.

She shrugged off her jacket and let it fall to the floor, then after stepping out of her shoes did the same with them.

"Do you want me to make you some soup?" Elliot asked; watching her as she laid down on the couch, with much annoyance it seemed.

"Don't have any," she mumbled as she reached for the remote.

"No soup..." he said to himself. "Well, I could go get you some."

"No need," she mumbled sleepily, "not hungry."

"As convincing as your caveman talk is," he told her, "you still need to eat something." Sighing when she ignored him, he decided to just rummage trough the cabinets in her kitchen, and make whatever he could find. After searching for nearly five minutes he came across a thing of Chicken Roman Noodles, figuring that was probably good enough he proceeded in making it.

Five minutes and a bowl of soup later he made his way back into the living room, with the intention of forcing the soup down her throat should she refuse it. But what he saw made him change his mind, she was lying on the couch with one hand extending off of it, the other lying on her side, sleeping. The TV was going, but it had been turned on mute. He sighed and set the soup down on the coffee table, then pulled the afghan from it's position on the top of the couch and unfolded it, then covered her up. Pressing his hand against her forehead he sighed again, she was burning up.

Glancing at his watch he saw that he had already been gone from the station for a little over an hour, he needed to leave soon. He picked the bowl of soup back up and brought it into the kitchen, then put it into a glad container, and then put the container into the fridge. Then, after finding a piece of paper and pen he wrote her a note and laid it on the coffee table in the living room, then turned of the television.

Before he left the apartment he glanced back at her, she was still sleeping. Quietly as he could he opened the door and slipped out into the hallway, gently shutting it behind him. It was time to get back to work.

**XXXX**

_2 hours later:_

She regretted waking instantly. Somehow the headache that had been forming earlier had escalated in her sleep and was now pounding with such intensity that it took all she had to even keep her eyes open. Her body still ached and as soon as she moved to sit on the couch she had to lay back down, nausea hit her like a wave and lightheadedness consumed her. Things were not looking good.

When she was certain that she could sit up again she did so, thanking God that this time she didn't nearly pass out. Glancing around the room she saw that the TV was off, and there was a blanket lying in the floor. Elliot must have covered her with it and she kicked it off while she slept. Had he left already? A piece of paper on the table caught her eye and she picked it up. It was from Elliot.

Olivia, it said, had to go back to work. Call me if you need anything, I'll come right away. I'm sure the Captain wouldn't mind. I'm serious, even if it's something little call me. Get well soon, Elliot.

Setting the note down she sighed; she didn't need any help. She started to stand, only to have her legs give way and fall to the ground. "Great," she said to herself as she sat on the floor, "that's going to bruise."

Using the table for support she raised herself back onto her feet and slowly made her way towards the telephone, stumbling as she did so. Picking up the phone and dialing the number she sighed.

Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she did need help.

**XXXX**

**A/N: Anyway, what do you think? It might go into EO, but I'm not so sure ... it might just be innocent fluff. I thought with all the fuss about the flu this year it would be a good story to write. But, I'm not sure if I've ever had the flu, so I'm just making stuff up as I go (i.e. symptoms). Well ... review!  
Ok- so I was going to attempt to write this story all the way through before I posted it, but that was taking way too long so I decided to just make it a WIP like all my others. So, I've got one other chapter written, I'll keep working on the rest.  
**


	2. Chapter Two

**Influenza**

**Chapter Two**

**Disclaimer: See previous chapter.**

**Spoilers: "Doubt" in this particular chapter. But, basically everything that's happened so far. **

**XXXX**

He had just dumped a stack of paperwork in his outbox when his cell phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID before answering he was surprised to see Olivia's number flash across the screen. Pressing answer he put the phone to his ear, "This is Elliot."

Her voice sounded forced and shaky, "Elliot ... it's me." There was a pause and she started speaking again, "I'm ... ah ... not doing so well. It's hard to stand ... I can barely walk." She stopped talking and waited for his answer.

"Do you need help?" He asked, his worry rising. "Do you want me to come over?"

"Yes," she said in a meek voice. "...Please, come."

He nodded, although he knew she would not know he had done so. "I'll be there as soon as possible, Olivia. You just ... sit down or something, take some Tylenol, anything."

"I'll ... yeah," she said wearily. "Ok. Just ... hurry."

He hung up without saying goodbye and grabbed his coat, headed for Cragen's office. Knocking on the door he poked his head inside, "Captain, Olivia just called ... apparently she's gotten worse. She didn't sound good ... at all, I think she needs help."

He nodded, "Go on, but take some files with you."

"Sure," he backed his head out of the office and shut the door. Making a quick stop back at his desk he grabbed a few files from the large pile that still remained in his in box and said goodbye to Munch and Fin.

"We're you goin'?" Fin asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"To check on Olivia," he called over his shoulder as he walked away, leaving no time for them to ask any other questions.

**XXXX**

Since she lived close by the precinct it didn't take him that long to get to her apartment. Forgoing the elevator he ran up the stairs, two by two, occasionally skipping three in one leap. By the time he reached her floor he was gasping for air, but he didn't let it slow him down, he ran down the hallway as fast as he could and skidded past her apartment, backtracking and banging on the door. "Olivia," he called out to her, "It's me ... it's Elliot."

A groan came from the other side; "It's ... unlocked." She managed in a meek voice, then broke into a fit of coughs.

Turning the knob on the door he pushed it open and stepped inside. What he saw worried him to no end, Olivia was sitting on the floor, against the wall that the telephone was on, her eyes shut tightly. As he walked over to her they opened a little bit and she groaned again, trying to get off of the floor.

"Let me," Elliot told her as he grabbed hold of her arms, gently pulling her off of the ground. He led her back to the couch and laid her down, picking the afghan up from the floor and covering her with it. "What hurts?" He asked, his hand placed against her forehead so he could estimate her temperature. From what he could tell it was very high.

"Everything," she moaned. "Moving, breathing, talking ... everything hurts."

"Do you have a thermometer?" He asked, running a hand through her hair comfortingly.

"In the bathroom," she mumbled, her eyes slowly shutting again.

"Alright," he replied softly. "I'm going to go get it, ok?"

She gave him a half-nod, her eyes fully shut, and he ran off to the bathroom to find it. After about five minutes he was back in the living room and taking her temperature. 30 seconds later it beeped and he nearly gasped.

"You've broken 102," he told her. "When was the last time you took any medicine?"

"This morning," she groaned, turning in a painful manner. "Some Dayquil."

"Ok ... where is your medicine at?"

She opened her mouth to reply but all that came out was coughs, wet, raspy, painful sounding coughs. It seemed to him that if she continued to cough at such an excessive force she would be short a lung. After the coughing subsided she looked at him through heavy eyes and managed to get a single word out, "...Bathroom."

Nodding he left her side again, to search through the bathroom for some medicine. He looked for a few minutes and managed to get out three different kinds of medicine, all he had left to do was figure out which would be better for her to take at that time. There was Tylenol PM, which would help her fever and help her sleep, Advil Cold Sinus, which might help with the fever a bit, but would probably have more effect if she were sneezing rather than coughing. Lastly, there was a bottle of extra-strength cough syrup. After reading the labels he decided that he would give her the cough-syrup first and then after about half an hour he would give her the Tylenol, in-between that time frame he would heat up the soup he had made earlier and get some food in her.

Making his way back into the living room he found her dozing on the couch, which didn't surprise him as much as the fact that she had no shirt on did. Thankful that she was wearing a bra he sat down on the couch next to her and gently shook her awake. When she didn't stir he called out to her, "Olivia... You need to wake up, Olivia."

Her eyes blinked open slowly, then shut again. She mumbled something incoherent and turned to face the back of the couch.

Sighing to himself he shook her again, "Olivia ... wake up."

Turning back around she forced her eyes open, "...Hot..." she mumbled thickly.

"I gather," he replied with a smile. In her feverish state she must have discarded her shirt to cool down, "How about I go get you a tank top to wear, ok?"

She looked down at her bare stomach, not even bothering to be embarrased. "...Mm'k."

Setting the medicine down he took another trip down the hallway in her apartment, this time going into her bedroom rather than the bathroom. He rummaged through the armoire and found a plain white tank top for her to wear, then brought it back out to the living room and helped her into it.

"Alright, Olivia." He continued, "I've got to get this medicine into you, ok?" She nodded. "Ok then, I'm going to get a spoon, I'll be right back." He was thankful that at least this time he knew where to look, it only took him a few seconds to get a spoon the right size for the dosage required. After he gave her the medicine he had to keep her awake long enough to get some food into her and then the Tylenol PM's, from her current state it was going to be a hard task.

He left her lying on the couch for a few minutes while he heated up the Roman Noodles and got her a glass of ice water, upon request. Since she was still complaining of the heat he grabbed a washcloth and wet it down, so he could place it over her forehead in hopes of breaking the fever after she ate a little.

After managing to get about one-eight of the noodles down she had enough and had to lay back down. With the wet washcloth over her forehead she seemed to complain less, but Elliot could tell she was just coherent enough to have a little bit of her stubbornness break through the fever, and the less complaining was her independence kicking in. "How do you feel?" he asked, pressing the back of his hand against her cheeks and neck to get an estimate of how hot she was.

"...Better," she managed to get out. Elliot could tell she was lying to him.

"Um-hmm." Taking the thermometer he pushed down her chin and stuck it in her mouth and underneath her tongue. A few seconds later it beeped, "You're still at 102.2," he informed her. "Nice try, though."

Her eyes opened slight and she scowled at him, but made no other remarks. After he checked his watch he figured that it was as good time as any for her to take the Tylenol, he had just wanted the cough medicine to start working before he tried to get her to sleep, and it seemed to be working already. It was a little hard for her to swallow the pills, so in the end he had to mash them up and let them dissolve in a little bit of water. Of course, it didn't taste very good, but it got the job done. He figured that it would be easier for him to watch her if she was asleep on the couch so he didn't move her into the bedroom, but instead he had her get off of the couch for a few minutes before the pills kicked in so that he could pull out the couch/bed. She protested, but once he explained that she would be more comfortable she allowed him to do so.

Fifteen minutes after that she was passed out on the bed, face down in a pillow. The way she was sleeping scared him so he turned her so that she was sleeping on her side, figuring that with her throat being as bad as it was he shouldn't have her on her back in case she started coughing again. He sat on the bed next to her and turned on the television, flipping through the various stations of soap operas and infomercials until he got to the CourtTV station.

He grumbled to himself when he saw what the various attorneys and prosecutors were arguing over, Scott Peterson. Elliot didn't understand why the jury didn't just give him the death penalty and call it a day, the man obviously didn't deserve life, and it wasn't like the death penalty is automatic, he would be tortured in prison for a couple of years before they finally strapped him down. That way, both sides of the penalty got what they wanted.

It was only ten minutes after he started watching the TV when he started to feel drowsy. He hadn't been sleeping much lately; work had kept them all busy. Especially Olivia, he figured that her lack of sleep and malnutrition for the past weeks had something to do with her susceptibility to whatever virus she had come down with. Not that he was much better off, but he had gotten his flu shot, if that's even what she had. Glancing over at Olivia he saw that she hadn't moved an inch from the last time he checked on her, nearly twenty minutes prior, she was out and she would stay that way for many hours.

His watch read twenty-two past one, the PM pills were supposed to last for a good seven to eight hours and she had been out for nearly half an hour to forty five minutes. He began to flip through the channels in an attempt to stay awake, but to no avail. Within fifteen minutes after looking at his watch he was fast asleep, the TV still on spitting out phone numbers for the newest fitness machine.

He didn't wake up until nearly three hours later.

**XXXX**

A cough was what ultimately brought him out of his sleep, though he didn't realize it right away. At first, while he was coming out of his sleepy-state, he had figured that it was just the television that had caught his attention. But, when another cough came from his immeadiate right he knew that must have been what had wakened him.

She was sleeping on her back, all the covers that she had once been covered with in a heap at the bottom of the bed. He sat up in the bed just as she coughed again and rolled onto her side. After waiting for a few minutes he was satisfied that the coughing had stopped and there was no need to wake her up and force more cough syrup down.

Sliding off the bed he searched around for the remote control, somewhere in the course of the three-hour's he had been asleep one of them must have kicked it off the bed. Picking it up off the floor he turned the television off, then threw the remote back on the bed next to Olivia, who was still sleeping soundly. Thank God for that.

Glancing down at this watch he was surprised to find that it was already almost four-thirty. Sighing to himself he looked around the room, wondering where he had left his cell-phone, he spied it on the coffee table next to the television and made his way over to it. There was one missed call. Funny, he hadn't heard it ringing. He must have really been tired.

After checking the caller ID he saw that it had been Kathleen who had called him, a stab of guilt hit him as he remembered his promise to her earlier that morning. Sighing again he dialed her cell and waited for her to pick up, she answered after the third ring.

"Hey, daddy," she greeted cheerfully. No doubt she was expecting this to be a call of confirmation.

"Kathleen..." he began, the guilt causing his stomach to churn. "Honey, I've got some bad news."

"Not again," she sighed. "What is it this time?"

"It's not what you think, Kathleen. I would love for you and the twins to stay with me tonight, but Olivia is sick. Really sick. She needs somebody to watch her and the captain's already given me today off in order to do so. I can't leave her alone, she's in a bad way." He hoped she would understand his explanation.

"Can't somebody else do it, daddy?" she begged. "We haven't seen you in a week."

"I know, baby. But you know Munch, he gets paranoid whenever somebody sneezes and Fin has to be at night-court later on."

"What about that new ADA?" she asked, "I thought you said she was nice."

"She is, Kathleen. But I doubt she's going to want to drop whatever plans she's got to take care of a co-worker. Maybe if Alex..." he trailed off, forgetting that Kathleen still thought Alex was dead.

The other end grew quiet, "I understand." The disappointment in her voice caused him to cringe. "I'm not sure if the twins will, but I understand. Mom's not going to be happy about this."

Elliot held back a snort, "I'm sure she won't. Please explain to the twins why you can't stay tonight. As soon as I have the free time I'll spend it all with you three. Trust me, even if it's a school day. You can afford to play hooky one day, right?"

"Yeah," Kathleen replied with another sigh. "I guess so. Tell Olivia I hope she feels better."

"I will, hon. I'll call you later," a cough got his attention and he turned around to check on Olivia. She was still lying on her side. "Bye, sweetheart."

"Bye, daddy." She said before hanging up.

Setting the phone back down he grimaced; it was bad enough that with their current arrangements he only saw his kids once a week on average, but skipping a week was something that he had done before, due to work. It wasn't fun. Not only did he miss spending time with his children but he got an earful from Kathy, who, for somebody who had vowed to cut off all ties from him, called a lot. The calls were never good though, each time she did there wasn't something new to fuss about.

Where had things gone wrong? One second he had been a devoted husband and a loving father and now he was separated from his wife- against his will- and barely got to see his kids. He could blame it on work, if he was the type who made excuses for him self. But, when it came down to it, the separation was his fault. There were plenty of times where he could have come home, but instead stayed at work or went out with Munch, Fin, and Olivia. More so, when he did go home he spent the majority of his time asleep and then the rest of it helping Dickey and Elizabeth with their homework, rarely did he have time alone with Kathy.

When had everything become so complicated?

**XXXX**

**A/N: I'll understand if you don't like the ending (of this chapter- the story isn't over yet), I'm not that thrilled with it myself. But anyway, I do realize that Scott Peterson's sentencing is already over with. But, when I wrote this chapter it wasn't yet ... so, yeah. I'm too lazy to go back and change things, so we'll just say that the timeline is a little slow in this story. Works for me.**

**So, please review! And, thank you to everybody who already has! You guys are awesome!  
**


	3. Chapter Three

**Influenza**

**Chapter Three**

**Disclaimer: Chapter One says it all. Just look there.**

**A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews, you guys are awesome!**

**XXXX**

Setting his musings on his life aside for the time being he made his way back to the couch-bed and the newly awaken Olivia. She looked at him through barely open eyes and coughed painfully. Hiding a grimace he reached out and laid his hand on her forehead, it was still warm but not as much so as it had been earlier. He was figuring it was around 100, maybe a little higher. "Hey," he greeted softly, "how are you feeling- the truth this time."

"Not so good," she croaked, shifting in the bed. "My throat... dry."

He nodded, understanding. "I'll go get you some water and Tylenol. You've still got a bit of a fever."

"'K," she said weakly, her eyes fluttering closed for a moment.

"Don't fall asleep, Liv." he told her. "Wait for about five minutes... can you do that?"

She nodded, but her eyes remained closed. Elliot figured that if he didn't move fast by the time he returned she would have fallen asleep so he got the water and medicine as quickly as he could and went back into the livingroom. Sure enough, when he made his way back to where she was lying on the bed she was sleeping, although he doubted it was soundly.

After setting down the water and Tylenol he set down on the edge of the couch bed an ran a hand through her hair, "Olivia... wake up."

She groaned and tried to turn away from him.

"Come on, Liv... you need to break this fever."

"Later," she mumbled, hiding her face under the covers. "Too tired."

He gently took hold of her shoulders and turned her back over to him, "You're acting like Dickey," he said with a grin. "Take this medicine and you can go back to sleep, alright?"

Her eyes opened partially, "Fine."

"Good," he reached out for the water and pills and then handed them to her. She took them grudgingly, swallowed them quickly and took a large gulp of water to wash them down.

"Now can I sleep?" she asked him tiredly.

He smiled, "Go ahead."

Pulling the covers tighter around her body she turned in the bed and quickly fell into a dreamless slumber.

**XXXX**

When she woke again he was nowhere in sight. Pushing herself up with what little strength she had she glanced around the room, he was nowhere to be seen but the keys on top of the TV told her he was still there. She didn't call out to him though, doing so would make her appear dependent on him for everything, and she could get up on her own accord, she didn't need him to help her.

Snorting at her own stubbornness she threw the covers off of her and slowly slid out of bed, her feet coming in contact with the cold, hardwood floor. Then, as steadily as she could she made her way across the living room and towards the bathroom, leaning heavily against the walls of the hallway connecting the two rooms. God, who knew the flu could be so bad? She most certainly hadn't, otherwise she would have been first in line for that damn shot.

Upon returning to the living room she found that he still was missing. Wondering to herself where he could have gone she decided to seek him out, there was really only two other rooms in her apartment; the bedroom and the kitchen. Since it was closest she checked the kitchen first, figuring he could easily be making himself, and maybe her, dinner. If it was even late enough for that.

Her suspicions had been right, well, partly so. He was sitting at her kitchen table, reading the paper, a half-eaten sandwich in front of him that was probably long since forgotten about. Smiling weakly she advanced further into the room, making her presence known. Sighing he sat the paper down on the table, "You should be in bed."

She shrugged, "Being up for five minutes won't kill me."

A frown passed over his face- maybe not, but if she wanted to get better quickly then she had better get plenty of rest. He knew from experience, of course, with four children he had learned that early on. "Olivia..." he said in a warning tone. "The more strain you put on yourself the harder your body has to work to make you well."

Another shrug, "I'm strong, El. I'll be fine."

Giving her an incredulous look he scowled. There wasn't much he could stay to that statement, she _was _strong, and from what he could tell she was doing much better than she had been three hours prior. Not that that meant she was completely out of the woods, far from it. The flu was unpredictable, he wasn't going to take any chances. "Even so," he told her sternly, "you need to stay in bed."

It was her turn to scowl, she knew he wasn't going to let this one go, he was a father for Pete's sake, it was his job to keep pressing the issue of rest while sick. But she wasn't his child, she was his partner- what gave him the authority to tell her what to do?

Oh yeah, her boss.

She must have scowled again because he smiled at her, such an infectious smile that she couldn't help but return it. Damn him, how did he have a way of always making her feel better?

"Fine," she frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'll get back into bed... but you have to make me dinner."

He shrugged, he had already planned on doing so when she woke up. "You don't have anymore noodles... or soup."

Yeah, didn't _she_ know it. "Crackers, then?"

He grinned, "I'll find something... go lay down."

"Yeah, yeah," she grumbled. Before she left the kitchen she grabbed a water bottle from the fridge to take with her, then made her way back to the living room, and her make-shift bed.

**XXXX**

He hadn't found anything in her cabinets, let alone her fridge, that would be edible for her, so he had to go to the corner store and buy her some Chicken Noodle soup, enough for the next three days, in fact. Olivia didn't like the fact that he was getting prepared for that much time, but he had assured her it was only precautionary. A few minutes later she was eating a light dinner of soup and crackers, with ginger ale to wash it down. Her appetite wasn't much, however, and she ended up only taking a few bites from the soup, and eating three crackers. He didn't mind, he knew how unappealing food was while sick, and was just glad that she could eat even a little bit of something.

"So?" she asked, sitting back in the bed, "What now?"

"TV?" he suggested, sitting down next to her and grabbing the remote. "I hear there's a Clint Eastwood movie on."

She made a face, "Not exactly something I want to see, at the moment... Isn't JAG or some other drama show on?"

He shrugged, "Must be something like that on, there's over a hundred channels to choose from."

"Turn it to TV guide, then."

He did as he was told and they watched as the various choices scrolled over the TV screen. Turned out Olivia had been right, JAG was on, Elliot flipped the station to USA and they watched th e show in a comfortable silence. That was, of course, until his cell rang. With a sigh he got up and fished through his jacket to find it, taking it out on it's third ring and answering, "Stabler?"

Must not have been somebody he wanted to talk to, Olivia concluded when his face dropped significantly. "Kath..."

Oh, _there_ was a shocker. No wonder he was making such a face.

"I can't just... She's sick, Kathy, I can't leave... Well, who else is going to?... Busy... Paranoid... Listen, Kathy, I'm sorry if _I_ screwed with whatever you had planned, but-... If you would let me finish what I was going to say then-... Why do I even bother?... I've already explained it to her, she understands, so will the twins... Well, I don't really care if _you_ don't understand Kathy, _they're_ what matter here... That's unfair and you know it."

Olivia bit back the lump rising in her throat. What was going on, why was Kathy so mad at Elliot? From what she could hear of the conversation it must have had something to do with her...

"...Don't try to blame this on me, Kathy, if you would let me see them more than every other weekend we wouldn't be having this conversation... No, I'm not saying that it's _all _your fault, just partially... What is that supposed to mean?... She can't control whether she's sick or not, you above all people should know that... What?... Now you just sound crazy... I don't know why you're getting so upset Kathy, you're the one who left." His voice was hushed now, but she had excellent hearing and even a little bit of whispering wasn't going to stop her from hearing his side of the conversation, if only she could hear Kathy's.

"I really don't have the time for this," he sighed into the phone. "No Kathy... I have to go now, we can tal-... Goodbye, Kathy." And with that he hung up the phone, sighing heavily.

"Elliot?" she called out, surprised by the weakness of her own voice. He turned around to look at her and forced a smile.

"Don't worry about it, Olivia." he assured her, "It's nothing."

"Sure sounded like something," she mused, motioning for him to come sit down again. "Do you not want to talk about it?"

A smile, weak, not forced, appeared on his face. "It was my weekend for the kids," he explained.

"Oh," she stated simply. "Listen... Elliot, you don't have to take care of me, yo–"

"Yes," he said, cutting her off. "I do. That's what friends are for, anyway. Now... don't worry about me, they'll come over next weekend. It will all be fine."

"Are you sure?" she asked, a bit upset by the fact that her faulty immune system had ruined his weekend. "I don't want to be a bur–"

He cut her off again, giving her an assuring smile. "You could never be a burden, Liv. You're my friend, I'd do anything for you." The smile turned into a grin, "Well... not everything. I draw the line at shopping."

She chuckled despite herself, "Then who would carry my purse?"

"Ouch," he exclaimed with a look of mock-hurt. "That was cold, Liv."

The mention of cold made her realize that she was freezing, and quite frankly still a bit tired. Pulling her blanket around her tightly she laid down on the couch-bed and allowed herself to slowly drift back to sleep.

**XXXX**

He had to admit he was a bit worried by how quickly she had gone from fully awake to dead asleep, but it was just a side affect of the illness so he pushed his worry aside and reached for the channel changer once more. If she was sleeping then there was no reason he couldn't watch the second half of that Clint Eastwood movie.

Changing the station to 5 he settled into the couch bed, sitting with his back up against a pile of pillows. Olivia was to his right, seemingly dead to the world. Placing his hand on her forehead he frowned, her fever had gone back up and she was beginning to perspire- as far as he knew she hadn't done so before. Could she be getting worse instead of better? He had been so sure that she was starting to get well, maybe it was a vain hope. He knew how the flu virus could be, he shouldn't have gotten ahead of himself.

After making a quick call to Cragen to inform him of her situation he ventured back into the bathroom to get her some more medicine. He went back to the living room and sat on the edge of the couch bed, next to her. "Liv," he called, placing the back of his palm on her cheek to get a approximate temperature. It was a bit high still, but not as high as it had been earlier that morning, thank God for that. "Wake up for a minute, Liv..."

As she had done earlier her eyes lazily fluttered open and she smiled tiredly, "Why?"

"Take some more medicine, you're fever's gone up again."

She groaned but didn't protest, it would just have been a waste of her time- which was better used sleeping. Taking the pills from his hand she swallowed them and then laid back down, pushing the covers off of herself.

"That it?" she mumbled, hiding her face in her pillow.

He nodded, though she wouldn't seem him do so, and ran his hand through her hair to lull her back to sleep. "Yeah... get some more rest, now."

"Sounds good," she said weakly, the medicine and feel of his hand in her hair furthering her into yet another dreamless slumber.

**XXXX**

**A/N: Well, most of you have said to make it EO and a few have said keep them friends- and I'm not making any promises just yet. It will be whatever it turns out to be, I guess. Can't say much more than that, since there's nothing else written! Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, I'm glad you like it. Please continue to review, let me know what you think about it and any suggestions you have.**


	4. Chapter Four

**Influenza **

**Chapter Four**

**Disclaimer: The show still doesn't belong to me, neither do the characters or the flu. But, the story is mine!**

**A/N: Once again, thanks for all the reviews!**

**XXXX**

When she finally woke up it was pitch black outside, the TV was no longer going, and the lights in the living room were turned off. However, a faint glow was being emitted from under the kitchen door, which told her that Elliot was probably in there- doing work, most likely. She carefully slid out of bed, biting back a groan as her muscles took that moment to remind her how incredibly sore she was, and inched closer to where he was. It took everything that she had to make it to the door and push it open, and sure enough he was hunched over her diningroom table, scribbling something down on a file.

"Cragen wouldn't let me bring anything home," she grumbled, making her way to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water. "How come he let you?"

"I'm not the one with the flu," he replied, nonchalant, not even bothering to look up from his work. "He gave me time off, but that doesn't mean I get out of work completely."

"Bummer," she sighed, sitting down at the table.

"You're looking better," he informed her after giving her a thorough look-over. "How do you feel?"

"Sore," she said, "I think my fever has gone down"

He crooked his finger at her and she leaned forward so he could place his hand over her forehead, "You're still warm... but it's not as bad as it was earlier. But, you've been on and off all day, so no promises."

"Tomorrow is Saturday, anyway," she told him, twisting the cap off of her bottle. "We have off, and I should be better by Monday."

He sighed, "I don't know, the flu is a tricky little bug." Giving her a innocuous look he continued, "Which is why you should still be in bed- sleeping."

She rolled her eyes, "I just woke up five minutes ago, El." She smiled, "Can I _please _stay up... just a bit longer?"

Elliot couldn't hide his grin if he had tried- her look and tone of voice mirrored that of his own kids and he knew she was doing so stratigically. "Fine... but you should lie down, either way."

"Ok," she agreed, "if you forget about work for an hour and come with me. We can watch Jay Leno or whatever late night show is on."

Glancing at his watch a sigh escaped his lips, "Alright... Jay Leno should be starting anytime now. We'll watch that until you fall asleep- then I can get back to work."

A smile of triumph passed over her lips, if she was going to be miserable and sick then at least she wouldn't have to be alone.

**XXXX**

Until she fell asleep turned out to be all of ten minutes. Although she wouldn't have admitted it to him she was exhausted, her sickness was getting to her more than she would let him know. After he was confident that she was asleep he ventured back into the kitchen, made sure to close the door quietly behind him, and went back to his paperwork.

**XXXX**

A fit of coughs took her out of her dreamless slumber, the flickering light of the television is what kept her awake, and the peak of her fever sent chills down her spine. Turning her attention to the faint glow of the TV she noticed that Late Night with Conan O'Brien was on, but the sound was on mute- she couldn't have been asleep for too long.

"...Elliot?" she called out, her voice thick and scratchy. Another episode of coughing erupted from her throat and she leaned over the side of the bed so that she could breath better. Nonetheless, her fierce protector didn't come running, which she found odd. Elliot had been watching her so closely that day, so where was he now?

"Elliot...?" she called out again. No response.

Worried, she painfully climbed out of the couch bed and padded across the living room floor, to where a light was seeping out from under the kitchen door. Pushing it open her eyes darted around the room, falling upon Elliot's sleeping form, hunched over the table uncomfortably. She stepped closer to him and reached out, grabbing his shoulder gently. "Elliot?"

He jolted forward at the touch, his head snapping around, eyes falling on her. "Liv?" he questioned, "what's wrong?"

"You fell asleep," she told him.

It was then that he noticed her obvious discomfort. "Are you alright?"

"Just a bit of a cough," she explained with a sheepish look. She hadn't meant for him to see her pain.

Sending her an incredulous look he stood up, closing the gap between them and placing a hand over her forehead, then each one of her cheeks. "You're burning up, Olivia."

"I'm _fine_," she told him defiantly, trying to pull back out of his grasp. He held on tight, there was no way he'd believe _that_ line.

"You're getting back in bed," he informed her. "Right now."

"Elli-" she began to protest but he cut her off before she could even get his name out.

"Who's the parent here?" he questioned. "Me... I know what I'm doing, Liv. You go get back into bed, I'm going to get you some Tylenol."

She sighed in defeat, "Make sure to get some water."

"I completely forgot," he said sarcastically. "Now go lay back down."

She mock-glared at him before back into the living room and lying down. A few seconds later he exited the living room, turning the kitchen light off in the process, carrying a glass of water and a bottle of Tylenol. He made his way to where she was lying in bed, sat on the edge, and handed her the pill bottle. She opened it, got two pills out, and took the water from him. Seconds later she handed both back to him and he put them on the table next to the couch, then turned back to her.

"You should get some rest." he told her. "You'll feel better after a good nights sleep."

"I doubt that's going to happen," she groaned. "I can't sleep for an hour without waking up at least once."

He grinned, "Those were PM's."

"Oh," a weak smile spread across her lips. "You really do know what you're doing?"

"I've been a dad for twenty years," he explained. "Lots of practice." She nodded, lying her head back down on the pillows and allowing her eyes to close. As she drifted off to sleep he gently ran a hand through her short, thick hair, as if to sooth and further her into sleep. She was warm to touch, burning almost, and it bothered him greatly. Of course, by her own admission she had been sick for a few days, and the second day is usually the worst, so he tried not to let it get to him, at least not too much.

When he was certain that she was asleep he pulled the covers up over her shoulders, then pressed the back of her hand against her forehead once more, allowing his worry to get the best of him. He contemplated finding the thermometer and taking her temperature while she was asleep, but didn't feel up to leaving her just then, so instead he did what every parent does when their child is sick, although Olivia was hardly his child- and pressed his lips against her forehead briefly.

She felt warmer than he had originally thought, which prompted him to leave her side for a few seconds to find the thermometer anyway. A few seconds later he was sitting by her side once again and gently pulled down her chin and stuck the thermometer into her mouth. Not long after that it began to beep and he pulled it out, nearly gasping at the results. Her temperature was 102.8, way too high for his comfort.

"God, Liv," he whispered, more to himself than to her, since she was still sleeping. "What's wrong with you?"

**XXXX**

He watched her as she slept, tossing and turning in the bed. Her fever was causing her sleep to be rough, and he was sure that she was having nightmares. But, she needed to sleep. The longer she slept the better her body could fight off the infections, and from what he could tell she was gradually breaking her fever during her rest- she was certainly sweating enough to be doing so.

Pressing a wet washcloth to her forehead he attempted to provide her some comfort, but it didn't do much good and she cried out in her sleep.

"Shh," he assured her, "it's alright- I'm here." He gently ran his hands through her hair again, knowing that whenever his daughters were sick it seemed to help, hoping it would do the same for her. All the while he kept calling out to her soothingly, letting her know that everything was ok, he was there with her. Finally after over an hour of restless sleep she seemed to calm, and he could finally rest easy as well. After glancing at the clock he was shocked to find that it was already after four in the morning, and he hadn't been to sleep in almost twenty four hours. No wonder he was feeling so exhausted.

After he entertained the idea of sleeping in her bedroom for a moment he pushed it aside, she was still way too sick to be left alone- he couldn't even leave the room until her fever was back around 100, at the very least. However, he had to sleep somewhere and the armchair wasn't looking very appealing to him, so he carefully climbed into bed beside her, but didn't slip under the covers. No need in freaking her out should she wake up.

It wasn't long before he himself fell into a restless slumber.

**XXXX**

When she woke up in the morning a faint light was shining into the room. From the amount of daylight outside she assumed that it was maybe six in the morning. Rolling over in the bed she was surprised to come face to face with her partner, who was still sleeping soundly. After overcoming her shock she slid out of the bed and made her way into the kitchen- even though the last thing on her mind was food, she was still extremely nauseous. When she had grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge she made her way back into the livingroom, he was still asleep.

Figuring this would be the one and only time she would get the opportunity to shower she slipped into her bathroom, and showered quickly, then dressed as such. When she made her way back into the living room she was surprised to find that he was still asleep, and after looking at the clock on the wall was even more surprised to see that it was just after 6:30. She had been off on her guess at the time.

As she watched him sleeping she was suddenly overcome with an extreme amount of tiredness, this flu was really catching up with her. She took some Tylenol and then crawled back into bed and under the covers.

In his sleeping state he reached out to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer and into a fairly intimate position. At first she thought about protesting, but she had seen the uneasy look on his face before getting into bed- he needed the sleep a lot more than she did. She was an adult, anyway- she should be able to ignore the position she was in and fall asleep with no trouble. So, why then, the discomfort here?

And, not discomfort because the situations that she was currently in was the last sort of situation she wanted to be in with her partner. But, discomfort because it was exactly something she would like to be in with her partner, and couldn't. After a few minutes of musing over her current situation she decided that his tight hold on her wasn't going to give so she might as well make the best out of an _ awkward _situation. Before she even knew what she was doing she snuggled closer, smiling faintly when his arm tightened around her waist, and allowed herself to drift into a wonderful, dream-filled slumber.

**XXXX**

It was bright outside when he finally woke up, but he didn't notice such. What he _did_ notice was that his arm was draped protectively around his partner's body and she was pressed tightly against him. After getting over his initial shock he began to pull back, only to feel her shift and scoot closer to him as he did so.

Oh boy, _not good_. This wasn't exactly the position that work-partners should be engaged in, even if it was only innocent. He snapped his eyes shut tightly and took a deep breath, then tried moving once more. As before she moved in her sleep, but this time turned and hid her face in his clothed chest.

Ok, so this wasn't as bad as before, but still _not_ good.

"Olivia," he called out gently. She mumbled incoherently and nuzzled further into his chest.

_Crap._ He glanced around the room and his eyes fell upon an opened bottle of Tylenol PM. He distinctly remembered closing that bottle after she took her pills earlier that morning, and it being closed when he went to bed after four. Sometime since then she must have waken up and taken more, he wasn't getting out of his current situation until the medicine wore off and she was coherent again.

After studying her for a moment he figured that maybe this wasn't so bad after all. Her face wasn't scrunched as it had been every other time she had been asleep, so maybe she was finally resting peacefully. That was the most important thing for her at the moment, was it not? So... where was the problem?

He already knew the answer to that question, he was way too comfortable in his current position, which was_ not_ a good thing. Sure, he was seperated from his wife and they were discussing divorce, but Olivia was his partner, and even if relationships in the work place weren't exactly banned (though, highly frowned upon), she had her own rules on that subject, and he would never do anything to cause her to break one of her rules. Besides, he was still technically married- adultery was not on his to-do list.

Figuring that the best way to ignore how comfortable his body was at the moment was to be asleep he closed his eyes, unknowingly wrapped his arms around her body, and fell into a sleep full of dreams.

**XXXX**

**A/N: So... that's a bit of the EO that people have been requesting. But, I'm still not sure if it's going to go any further than such. I think it will- but you never know? The muse is a tricky thing, always changing. Anyway, let me know what you think!**


	5. Chapter Five

**Influenza**

**Chapter Five**

**Disclaimer: Nah, don't have claim to 'em.**

**A/N: I didn't even realize that I had put a date in an earlier chapter... Oops. Oh well, let's just say the later date is correct, and the earlier was a fluke.**

**Also, I'm going to take this moment to establish that Olivia is simply sick with the flu. I had meant to say so in my previous chapter, but I guess I forgot. Anyway, it's just the flu- granted, a very extreme case of influenza... but nothing sinister going on here. I'm not creative enough to make up a more serious illness. **

**XXXX**

When he woke next she was still sleeping, in his arms, pressed up against him in a spooning position. A scowl appeared on his face, he had hoped that while she slept she would have moved away from him, but that wasn't possible. For that to happen he would have to be a lucky person, and Elliot Stabler had no luck what so ever. With a snort he gently pulled away from her, but she shifted in her sleep, and once again hid her face in his chest.

Great. Just_ great_. Once again he began to pull back from her, only to have her cuddle closer. He just couldn't catch a break today... and it was still morning! With a sigh he gave up trying to move without her knowing so and gently shook her awake. "Olivia..." he called out to her softly. "Wake up."

She mumbled something and hid her face in his shirt, pressing tightly against him. He scowled, that wasn't exactly what he had planned on.

"Liv," he called out, a bit louder than before. Once again she mumbled, but instead of scooting closer she snaked an arm around his waist and laid her head on his chest.

Not good. He was getting way to comfortable with this. There went the nice way of waking her up.

Elliot quickly rolled away from her and she fell gently against the bed because of it. _That _woke her up. Her eyes blinked open and she gave him a confused look, apparently she hadn't been expecting to be waken up like that.

"You hungry?" he questioned, hoping she hadn't realized that they had been so close. A shake of her head was his only answer and he sighed. "You need to eat something, Olivia."

"I don't feel hungry," she stated simply. "Maybe later..."

_Sure_ she would.

"How do you feel?"

She shrugged, "I'm fine."

Like he was going to believe _that_. He sent her an incredulous look, "Do you want some Tylenol?"

A shrug, "If you think that it's necessary. You are the parent here, anyway. But, I feel better."

He snorted with amusement. Sure, she felt better, but she still couldn't muster up enough strength to get out of bed, or to eat something. "Then you won't mind if I test that opinion, will you?"

She scowled, knowing that he wanted to take her temperature. "Fine, whatever you want."

Oh, that was the_ wrong_ statement, considering the position he had just been in.

It took him a second to realize that she was smiling at him, obviously the look on his face had tipped her off to the fact that he wasn't thinking doctorly thoughts. He rectified the situation, putting a frown on his face, and walked over to her side of the bed, grabbing the thermometer from the coffee table. "Good, open up."

This time she didn't smile, but he could tell by the look in her eyes that she had known of their earlier arrangements. Damn, he had been hoping she had been passed out the whole time. Of course, he knew he wasn't lucky, so he shouldn't have been surprised. With a slight scowl he stuck the thermometer into her mouth and waited for the beeping to sound. Not long after that it did and he pulled the device out, her temperature was 100.5. Not exactly good, but much better than 103.

"Ok, so maybe you are getting better..." she grinned in triumph. "But, you're still running a fever."

"But, it's better than before?" she questioned, taking the thermometer from his hand.

"Yeah- so you should take those Tylenol, it could break your remaining fever." He left the bed for a minute and ventured into the kitchen, where the regular Tylenol was sitting on the dining room table, right where he had left it the night before. When he made his way back out to the living room she was sitting up in the bed, flipping through the TV channels with the remote, an annoyed look on her face.

"Why is there never anything good on Saturday's?" she questioned, throwing the remote down on the bed beside her and taking the Tylenol from his hands, as well as the water he had gotten from the fridge. She swallowed them quickly and looked up at him with a slight smile, "So... if my fever is gone by tonight does that mean you'll leave me alone?"

She was just joking, he could tell by the amusement in her eyes, and he decided to play along. "I don't know... you never trust the flu. I might just have to call the Captain and tell him that you're too sick and he shouldn't even consider allowing you back to work for _days_..."

A scowl appeared on her face, "You _wouldn't_," she challenged.

He grinned and shrugged his shoulder, "Parent."

That was all he needed to say, really. Of course he would- he had three daughters and a son that he had probably threatened like that many times before. Crossing her arms over her chest she leaned back and eyed him suspiciously. He was joking as far as she could tell, his smile reached his eyes and lit them so bright that you'd either have to be blind or a homosexual woman not to be drawn in by them, and, being neither, she found herself lost in deep blue of them.

He cleared his throat a few seconds later and she realized that she had been staring. Her cheeks flushed and she panicked to find something else to do, then decided on picking the channel changer back up and flipping through the stations once more. A chuckle of amusement escaped his lips, but he said nothing that would embarrass her, mostly because she hadn't spoken of their earlier sleeping arrangements... yet.

**XXXX**

By three o'clock in the afternoon her fever had broken, for the first time since he had been taking care of her. He was hopeful, he admitted, but he knew there was a chance that it would come back. Olivia, however, was adamant that she _was_ better, no matter what he said, or how good his past experience in such occasions was.

She was feeling so much better, in fact, that she had been up for nearly an hour without having to sit down and rest. Elliot was in the kitchen, doing paperwork, and while he was occupied she spent her time cleaning up around her apartment- since she had been neglecting it for the past few days. When he came out of the kitchen at a quarter after four the living room was spotless (although she had left the couch bed down) and if he had gone into the bathroom to check it he would have found it newly cleaned as well. She, however, was already sitting back down, even though she didn't feel the immediate need to at that time.

"Wow," he said, looking around. "Somebody got bored."

Olivia shrugged, "There was nothing good on TV."

He nodded and glanced at his watch, "You feel up for Chinese food? Or, more soup?"

After thinking about it for a minute she decided that noodles couldn't be that hard to keep down. "Chinese is fine with me..." she replied, "if that's what you want."

Elliot shrugged in reply, "It's easiest, unless you want pizza."

A look of disgust passed over her face, Chinese maybe, but pizza was definitely a no at the moment. "I'll stick with my first choice."

He chuckled, having already known that she would be in no mood for pizza. "Alright, I'll go order some Chinese... Peppered Steak?"

She nodded, "And Chicken Fried Rice."

"Of course," he smiled. "I'll be right back," then he disappeared into the kitchen. Five minutes later he was back in the living room, sitting next to her on the couch bed. "So... anything good on?"

Olivia just scowled.

**XXXX**

When the clock struck eight o'clock her fever still hadn't gone up, it was staying at an even 98.8 degrees- which he had no objections to. They still hadn't found anything good on the TV by five, so they had decided they would watch movies. And, not just any movies, chick flicks. Of course, he had wanted to watch action movies, but she had argued with him- she was sick and it was her house, she picked the movie. And, being in the mood that she was in the only thing that would appeal to her were chick flicks.

So first, they watched a classic- Bed of Roses. It had been forever since she had seen it last, and she had forgotten how much she loved the movie. After that was over she pulled out My Best Friends Wedding, one of her favorites. Elliot had objected a bit- well, a _lot_ to watching Bed of Roses, but not so much to My Best Friends Wedding. It had only been a little over half an hour since they had put the movie on, however, when she realized why he hadn't objected. Elliot's loud snoring took her thoughts away from the movie, and she couldn't help but laugh softly because of it. He was passed out asleep, sitting with his back against the false headboard of the couch bed.

With a sigh she turned off the TV, it was just as well, she was beginning to feel tired, too. With an amused smile she turned towards him and gently shook his shoulder. He jolted forward at the touch and looked at her bewildered. "You fell asleep," she informed him, her small smile growing larger at the look on his face.

"What time is it?" he questioned, looking around the dark room.

"Just after eight," she supplied, knowing the next place he was going to look was his watch. No use in wasting his time, anyway. "I'm going to go to bed, too... you stay out here- I'll head off to my room."

"Do you feel any better?" he questioned tiredly. It was apparent to her that he was forcing himself to stay awake in order to make sure she didn't need his help. That was why he was there anyway- to help her. A fat lot of good he would do asleep.

She shook her head, "I feel fine."

He scowled and she realized what she had said.

"Ok... I feel perfectly normal. How's that? I think I kicked it. I'll take some Tylenol, just in case, alright?"

He nodded and laid his head back down on the bed, sure that she was telling the truth to him. Within a minute his breathing had evened out and she knew that he was sleeping.

In all truthfulness, _she _should have been worried about _him,_ instead of him being worried about her. Her fever had broken early that afternoon, and had yet to come back, so she was fairly certain she was through with the flu. But, how quickly he had gone to sleep, and how tired he had looked was a bit unnerving to her. However, she brushed it aside as simple exhaustion. She knew, of course, how hard the job could be and how much it took out of a person. It was high time he started showing the effects of working too much, he wasn't superman, and both of them knew that.

As she had promised she took the Tylenol and then headed off to her bedroom, crawling under the cold sheets, and making a face as the cool fabric made contact with her warm skin. Within seconds her body heat had turned the covers warm and she felt herself drifting off into dreamland.

**XXXX**

She was surprised when she woke up during the middle of the night, in her pitch black room. Not only because she had figured that since her illness was gone she would once again sleep the whole night through, but also because of the reason she had been awoken. Which, it took her a few minutes to even realize exactly _why_ she was awake.

But, it was soon made apparent to her when a painful, wet cough erupted from the living room. It wasn't her coughing, it was _him_. She quickly slid out from underneath her warm covers and made her way into the living room. He was still asleep, although hardly peacefully, on the couch bed. As she walked over to him he started coughing once again and when she got close enough she could see beads of perspiration on his forehead and cheeks.

"Elliot," she called out to him gently, pressing her hand over his forehead. She drew it back, unnerved. He was _burning_ up.

The noise hadn't woken him, so she spoke to him again, "Elliot... I need you to wake up for me, ok?"

His eyes fluttered open and he looked over at her confused, "...Liv?" he asked, his voice thick and forced.

She nodded, running a hand through his hair lightly. "You're not going to be happy with me- but I think you've got the flu..."

**XXXX**

**A/N: Some of you people are just TOO smart for your own good. Of course, I was going to wait a bit longer before making Elliot sick, but I figured _What the hey... give them what they want_. So... there it is.**

**Let me know what'cha think :) **


	6. Chapter Six

**Influenza **

**Chapter Six**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**A/N: Oh, Ye of little faith! Of course, since Elliot is now sick Olivia will be taking care of him! Would I have it any other way? No, I most definitely would not!**

**XXXX**

He looked up at her, his heavy eyelids closing involuntarily, and adamantly shook his head. There was no way _he_ was sick. _She_ was the sick one, _he_ was taking care of her. He couldn't be sick, not while she still had the flu. "I'm fine," he croaked, suddenly aware of how dry his mouth was. "How do_ you_ feel?"

She sighed at his stubbornness, he was sick, she knew it, there was nothing that he could say to her to convince her otherwise. "Don't worry about me," she assured him. "I'm all better."

Elliot attempted to give her an incredulous look, but only ended up wincing in pain. Ok, so maybe he wasn't in the perfect health he thought he was. But, he did _not_ have the flu. He had been smart, unlike Olivia, he had gotten his flu shot. "No temperature?"

With an slight smile she picked his hand up from the bed, then placed it over her forehead. "You tell me."

Elliot frowned, her forehead didn't feel warm at all to him. In fact, it was exactly the opposite, and he sighed as her cold flesh began to pull the heat out of his. His hand dropped back down to the bed and she, in turn, placed her palm against his forehead, gave him her own frown, then used the back of her hand to feel his cheeks. "El, I don't care _what_ you say to convince me otherwise, you're sick."

Well..._ maybe_. But he wasn't going to admit that to her. If he was sick, he could take care of it himself. No use in ruining her weekend. He pushed himself up from the bed, resting his back against the cushions of the couch, and let out a deep sigh, which then turned into a fit of coughs. Making a mental note to quit sighing for the time being he put his hand up to his own forehead. Of course, he trusted Olivia enough to believe her when she said that his forehead felt warm, but he wanted to see for himself.

Ok, so she _was _right, and he _was_ really warm. But that didn't necessarily mean that he had the flu. He could just have caught a little cold, nothing big- just a bit of a fever and a cough... Yeah, that was it. A cold.

"I'll get you some Tylenol," she told him, getting up from her spot on the side of the bed. "And some water."

He gave her his best nod, which took quite a bit of effort on his part, and leaned heavily against the back of the couch. Damn, this was a hell of a cold. That was for sure. Just as soon as she had left she returned, holding the Tylenol PM bottle in one hand, and a bottle of water in the other, and wearing a frown.

"Here," she said gently, after twisting off the top of the Tylenol bottle and taking out two pills. He took them grudgingly and popped them into his mouth while she twisted off the cap of the water bottle, then handed that to him, as well. After taking a large drink from the water he gulped the pills down, the fact that it hurt like a mother, notwithstanding. Within minutes his eyes had closed tiredly and his breaths had become even, enough evidence for her to prove that he had fallen asleep.

She sighed to herself and placed her hand on his cheek tenderly, wondering how in the world she was going to take care of him. She wasn't a parent like he, sure when she was younger and her mother had a bit too much to drink and got 'sick' she had learned to take care of her. But, being drunk and having the flu were totally opposite things. She wasn't sure how good she would be at it.

After a few minutes of watching him sleeping she got up from his side again, to venture into the kitchen, where she grabbed a washcloth and wet it down. Then, she returned to the living room, and sat by his side again. She brushed the beads of perspiration off of his forehead tentatively, hoping the motion wouldn't wake him, then pressed the cold cloth against his forehead, in hopes to break his fever quicker. The motion caused him to shift slightly, but he didn't rouse, which she was thankful for.

What was she going to do? Could she really take care of him well enough to nurture him back to good health? No doubt she had caused him to get this way, since he had been in full contact with him while she was sick, so it had to be her who gave him the flu. In that case, she already knew what symptoms to expect, and how bad they would be, and that scared her. She had been so sick, no matter how much she had tried to hide it from him she knew that she had been bad off. What if he got just as bad, or worse?

Setting her musings aside for the time being, she turned her attention back to him, just in time to see him shiver. She drew the covers up closer towards his neck, then ran a hand through his short hair gently, knowing that when he had done the same to her while she was sick and restless it had helped in soothing her.

She glanced over at the clock on the cable box, then sighed heavily. It was already after three in the morning, and she was still feeling the effects of being sick. If she didn't get some sleep there was no way she was going to be able to help him through his own illness. But, there was no way she could leave him alone- if he woke up in the middle of the night he was going to need her help. Where was she going to sleep, though?

He had stayed in the same bed with her while she was sick, hadn't he? Of course, she was still aware of what had occurred while they had been sleeping, but nevertheless, it had been the only option. She sighed again, if she was going to get any sleep it would have to be in the couch bed, along with him.

In the end, her tiredness won out. She was physically and mentally exhausted, and no matter what she needed to sleep. Olivia got up from his side, allowing her hand to linger on his cheek for a second, then walked around the bed. There was a slight chance that she herself was still sick, so she couldn't forgo the covers and sleep on top of the bed, and had to crawl under the comforter, next to her partner.

He reacted to the motion like any man who had been married for years would, by shifting in his sleep and snaking his arm around her waist. Probably something he would have done when he and Kathy had been together, something that was imprinted in his mind. And, how could she blame him for doing it? In his unconscious state, he didn't _know_ that it was her, all he knew was that there was a warm body next to him, and every other time before he was warranted in his actions. So, there was no getting mad at him for it. Not like she would have, anyway...

Which, just added on to the problem. Just as before, she was comfortable in her situation. She _liked_ her situation. Of course, with him being the sick one, it changed things a bit, but it still came down to the fact that she was sharing a bed with him and her body was pressed up against his perfectly.

Elliot brought her out of her musings by shivering violently. T he tremor was so profound that it scared her, she hadn't done that while she had been sick, had she? Olivia turned around in his arms, so that she was now facing him, and studied his features carefully. His brow was furrowed in a painful matter and his lips were pursed together tightly, not to mention the fact that he was still sweating from the fever.

"God, Elliot," she whispered, pressing her hand against his cheek gently. "What's wrong with you?"

**XXXX**

He woke up in the middle of the night coughing fiercely, the noise roused Olivia as well and she jolted forward, her gaze instantly turning to him. "Are you alright?" she questioned eagerly.

Elliot took in his surroundings instantly, while she was practically sitting on the bed, she was still held firmly in his arms, as well as under all the blankets. Oh yeah, he was good. Well, as long as he ignored the splitting headache, burning throat, and sore muscles, that was.

All he had the strength to do was shake his head, he wouldn't have been able to answer her, anyway. He was still coughing up a storm. Olivia frowned, not at all embarrassed by their sleeping situations, and pressed her palm against his forehead. Which, was nice for him, since he was burning up and her skin was soft and cool against his. He shivered despite himself, causing her frown to further, and though he couldn't see much in the darkness, he could plainly see the worry in her eyes.

"What time...?" he adverted his eyes to the clock on the cable box and he, himself frowned. It was just after five in the morning, it hadn't been long since he had first woken, even though he had taken medication that was supposed to allow him at least eight full hours of sleep. Olivia glanced over her shoulder to check the clock as well, and sighed because of it. No doubt she was exhausted from being sick herself.

"You should go back to sleep," she told him softly, touching his cheek with the back of her hand soothingly. The caress worked and he found himself leaning into it sleepily, his eyelids slowly closing. She saw this and smiled lightly, stroking the same cheek gently. "The more rest you get, the quicker you get better."

He wasn't going to argue with that statement, he had used it against her only a day prior, so he nodded and laid back down. Had he not been so sick it might have registered in his mind how caring she was being and he might have acted accordingly, but he wasn't so he didn't. She, herself, didn't even seem to pick up on all the gentle touches or careful caresses she was giving him. Which, probably had something to do with her extreme exhaustion.

The last thing he remembered before drifting back into a restless sleep was her body making contact with the bed once more, and then his arm finding it's way around her waist, slowly pulling her closer to him. What he missed, however, was her burrowing her face into his chest, and wrapping her own arm around his waist before she, too, fell asleep.

**XXXX**

This wasn't right. The more logical side of her brain was screaming as much at her as she cuddled up close to him, but she did good to even acknowledge that argument. Maybe it wasn't right, but God did it _feel_ right. Even if he was sick, and she was too tired to know what she was doing, her body still understood such. She was practically melting into his arms and at the moment she wouldn't have had it any other way.

But, she certainly didn't feel the same way when she woke up the next morning. Her body had the chance to regain it's much needed energy to function, and her brain was finally starting to make sense out of the situation she was in.

Thankfully, he was still asleep when she woke, so it wasn't very hard for her to pull out of his grasp. Of course, in his sleeping state he had tried to hold her there, but being sick he was far weaker than she, so it didn't cause her much of an inconvenience. When she glanced at the clock she found that it was almost nine, so she quickly showered and changed before he woke.

Which happened at eight minutes after ten. What tipped her off to the fact that he was awake was a low, painful groan from the couch bed. At the time she had been in the recliner, watching the morning news, so it didn't take her long to be by his side.

"Elliot?" she questioned, reaching out to touch his forehead. Not as bad as the morning before, but still extremely warm. "Open your eyes..."

He did as told, albeit very slowly, and smiled slightly. "Morning..." he said, his voice sounding thick and forced.

"Good morning," she greeted. "How do you feel?"

"Horrible," he told her, blinking sleepily. "You?"

"Good... I'm all better, thanks to you."

At that he grinned a bit.

"You hungry?"

He shook his head, "Thirsty."

"I'll get you something to drink..." she began to stand up from the bed, but he reached out and grabbed her arm, keeping her from doing so.

"Don't," he asked, his voice breaking a bit. "We need to talk."

**XXXX**

**A/N: I think that I jinxed myself or something, because now I have a cold (not the flu, mind you... bit, it still bites). Nothing too terrible, I can still write until 1 in the morning! Anyway... I thought I'd put a bit of a cliffhanger in there. Just because I can :)**

**Let me know what'cha think about it.**


	7. Chapter Seven

**Influenza**

**Chapter Seven**

**Disclaimer: Well, the show's not mine, and neither are the characters.**

**XXXX**

"Talk?" she asked, taking in a deep, ragged breath. "About what?"

His look turned reserved, as if he thought he had made a mistake, then let go of her arm. "Uh... I just wanted to say... you, ah, you don't have to take care of me."

From the look on his face she knew that he was lying, but she didn't press the issue. Instead, she smiled lightly, "You took care of me when I was sick, El. Let me return the favor, alright?"

He sighed and leaned against his pillows, "I don't want to ruin your weekend."

She laid her hand on his chest gently, "I didn't have anything planned, anyway. Let me go get you some water, alright?"

Elliot's eyes traveled from hers down to her hand on his chest, then he nodded. With the confirmation she got up from the side of the bed and made her way into the kitchen, grabbed him the last bottle of water that was in the fridge, then restocked it. The Tylenol was sitting on the kitchen table, so she grabbed it, then ventured back into the living room, handing him the Tylenol as she sat back down by him on the bed.

"Thanks," he said, taking the pills. She twisted off the cap to the water, then handed it to him, and he washed the Tylenol down. Leaning heavily against the pillows once more he turned his attention back to her, "You sure you're ok?"

Olivia nodded, "No more fever, no sore muscles, no coughing or sneezing, not even a sore throat. Besides the fact that I am still extremely tired, which is nothing new, I'm fine."

Another sigh escaped his lips as he realized that she was telling him the truth. Had she still been sick he could have tried to switch roles with her, once again nursing her back to health, instead of her helping him with the same thing. Though he wouldn't admit it to her, he hated feeling useless, hated the fact that he _needed_ taking care of, that he couldn't do it alone, even if it was her taking care of him. The fact still remained, he was helpless.

Either he was wearing his emotions on his sleeve, or she was psychic, because the next thing he knew she was giving him a reassuring smile, and resting her hand on his cheek gently. "Everybody gets sick, Elliot... you're not superman, you know?"

He snorted, "I got my flu shot, Liv. I shouldn't have caught it."

So that was what was bothering him? she mused. He was upset about actually _getting_ sick. "Elliot," she told him, smiling with amusement, "a lot of people who got their shots have been getting sick. There was something wrong with them this year, you know that, it's been all over the news."

Well, yeah. He knew that. The knowledge didn't make him feel any better, though. With a shrug as his only reply he slid down lower in the bed, shutting his eyes with a tired sigh. "I'm gonna sleep some more..."

She lowered her hand from his cheek back to his chest and nodded, even though his eyes were still shut. "Good... that's good."

"You should get some rest, too," he told her sleepily. Hadn't she admitted that she was extremely tired? Sleep wasn't only something needed to nurture you back to health, anyway. If he was going to be out, there was no reason she shouldn't.

"That sounds like a good idea," she told him, moving her hand from his chest to his forehead, and frowning because of the warmth she felt.

He mumbled something incoherently, causing Olivia to lean forward, closer to his mouth.

"What?" she nearly whispered.

"We'll talk more... when I wake up," he replied more clearly, although the exhaustion in his voice was clearly detectable.

"About what?" she asked, but it was too late. He was already asleep.

With a confused look that nobody could see, she got up from her spot on the couch bed, and walked around to the other side, where she slid under the covers, but made sure to stay at enough distance from him that neither would be tempted to cuddle. And, with enough examples from the past couple of days, she knew that given the chance, both would have.

When she had said she was extremely exhausted she hadn't been lying, and thus was proven by the fact that she had only been lying in bed for no more than three minutes before her breathing evened out, and she was asleep.

**XXXX**

He woke up before she did, for once. After a quick glance at the clock he decided that he hadn't been sleeping long enough, and neither had she, so getting up wasn't an option. Going back to sleep, however, seemed about as good as anything else he could have come up with.

It was cold, though, and he could feel the chill of early November through the thick blankets covering him. It was going to be a long, harsh winter, according to the news, and it was starting early. He shivered, although he wasn't sure if it was from the cold outside, or his illness, and tried to pull the covers tighter around him. That wasn't going to happen, however, because she had them wrapped around her body in a way that couldn't be undone. He sighed, because there was only one other thing for him to do, something he was a bit hesitant about.

Shared body heat would be the only way to warm him up, short of waking her, and he wasn't going to do that. She was tired, and needed all the sleep she could get. He wasn't going to let his own selfishness get in the way of that. But, even though he didn't like it, he did have the flu, and the last thing_ he_ needed was to be cold, it would only slow down his recovery. So, he reached out for her, surprised by the large distance between them, and gently pulled her close.

She stirred at the touch, but didn't rouse, thankfully. When she was close enough to provide him with some of her body heat he stopped pulling her, deciding that the more space between the two of them the better, and settled into sleep once more. What he hadn't been expecting, however, was that in her unconscious state she would react to being so close to a warm body, and before he knew it she was cuddled up against him, her face hiding in his chest.

Well, wasn't this a pleasant surprise, he decided, as a sigh of content escaped her lips, muffled by her close proximity to his body. A pleasant surprise that had occurred way too many times in the past few days, as far as he was concerned. Not that it wasn't _pleasant_, far from it. However, it wasn't right. He was still married, she was still his partner, and she still had her rules, no matter how stupid he thought them to be.

Sticking to his earlier assessment, that she was still too tired to wake, he closed his eyes and allowed his own sleepiness to take priority. It wasn't long before he, too, was asleep, and in his unconscious state, wrapping his arms around her tightly, pulling her as close to him as possible. Maybe he knew it wasn't right, but his mind sure didn't seem to think so.

**XXXX**

She woke feeling surprisingly refreshed, and smothered. It didn't take her long to figure out why she felt so, because his arms tightened around her instinctively, and he sighed into her hair. Geeze, couldn't she get a break? Hadn't she kept a gap between the two of them when she had fallen asleep? Why then, the closeness now?

Her sight was limited, since her face was still hidden in his shirt, and it wasn't going to change much as long as he was asleep. So, she had two options, stay like that and allow him more rest, or wake him up and face the awkward situation.

In the end, she didn't have to pick between the two, he did it for her. By waking up on his own. She knew as much because his arms loosened their hold on her, and he pulled back a bit. With her new found freedom she looked up at him sheepishly, wondering if she had been the one to scoot closer to him while she was sleeping, or if he had pulled her closer himself. When she didn't see confusion in his eyes she came to the conclusion that it had been him to pull her close, instead of the other way around.

"Good afternoon..." she told him.

He nodded. Good afternoon, indeed. If only he could wake up like that all the time.

"You feel any better?"

Elliot snorted, no, he didn't. He still felt like crap, and didn't think that was going to change much. However, until she had asked him, he hadn't really been focused on that.

She grinned despite herself. He looked extremely good looking when he just woke up, sick or otherwise. "I didn't think so." Olivia began to pull out of his embrace, only to realize that his arms were still wrapped around her, now tighter than they had been before. She looked up at him, confusion dancing in her eyes.

"We need to talk..."

Well, wasn't that familiar? "About?"

He gave their current position a once-over, then looked back up at her. "This," he stated simply, giving no further explanation.

Not that she would have needed one anyway. "What about it?"

His normally bright, blue eyes were dark, but not in a threatening way, and she couldn't decide if that was a good thing, or a bad thing.

"Is it just because one of us is sick... or something else?"

She shivered at the implication, which he noticed immediately, and smiled because of it, causing all her insides to turn to goo. How was she supposed to answer _that_? Was there even a right answer? Did she even know?

His smile turned into a grin, an incredibly _sexy _grin, and she felt a chill run down her spine. God, what was he doing to her? _How_ was he doing it? The only thing the man had done was smile, for Pete's sake! How on earth was that having such an effect on her?

"Answer anytime you'd like..." he told her, running a hand through her short hair, although this time it wasn't to sooth her. She felt herself melting under his intense gaze, but for the life of her couldn't manage to form a sentence in her mind. It was like her brain had shut itself down. Wasn't that funny? One look from a good looking man and her brain off and quits on her.

"I... uh," she managed before her voice broke. Forcing back a snort she went over an explanation in her mind. God, it was one sentence... this wasn't rocket science. "I don't know," she finally spat out, her eyes downcast, looking anywhere but his face, or more specific, _his_ eyes.

"You don't know," he questioned, "or you don't _want_ to know."

The implication caused a swell of bravery in her, and she forced herself to look at him. Ok, glare was a better term, but it was a look nonetheless. "I haven't thought about it," she told him, her independence kicking in at full force. "Have _you_?"

He grinned, despite himself. Of course he had... not. Hey, he had just woken up. The initial question had been a surprise to even him, why should he have to answer his own thoughts?

"I..." he started, ready to come back with an intelligent retort. Nothing came to mind, so he decided to stick with the truth. "No... not really."

Her eyes narrowed on him, "Then what are we doing here?"

Well, wasn't _that_ a good question? He wished he had an answer for it.

"I don't know," he told her simply. The truth seemed to be working so far (at least for the most part) so he decided to continue down that path. "But, I'm trying to figure that out."

"Well," she told him, trying to pull out of his grasp once more, failing miserably. "Could you please let me know when you do?"

He grinned, "I'll do you one better."

"Oh, yeah?" she questioned. "How?"

The grin on his face spread, forming into a full fledged smile. That had been the question he was hoping for, because it allowed him to test out his theory.

Her only warning of what was to come was his hands moving from around her waist, to one cupping her cheek, and the other tangling in her hair. Which, that should have tipped her off big time, but she had been to distracted by his earlier questions for it to register in her mind exactly _what_ he had planned, and before she knew it, his lips were pressed firmly against her own.

If she had thought that a simple smile from him was enough to through her off kilter, then a kiss completely knocked her off course, and she found herself throwing all her rules out the window and melting into the embrace. Her arms came around his neck without her even realizing it, and she pulled him closer, deepening the kiss, despite everything the logical side of her mind was screaming at her.

Hell, this was as good a way to find the answer to his questions as any. And, she definitely wasn't going to complain, or stop him. If this is what he needed to do, then that was fine with her.

**XXXX****  
A/N: Hehe, I fooled you guys into thinking the important stuff would be at the beginning of the chapter... not the end :)****  
Ah... cliffhangers are so great. **  



	8. Chapter Eight

**When All Else Fails**

**Chapter Eight**

**Disclaimer: I wish they were mine, but unfortunately, a wish is all I have...**

**XXXX**

She allowed herself a few moments of blissful disregard for the rules, and the situation, and everything that she had ever promised herself, and everything she knew he had promised himself, and all the things that her mind told her over and over again were wrong. She simply pretended that they weren't there, hanging in the balance, hovering over her and hovering over him, watching and waiting for the right time to come crashing back down, waiting to ruin the moment. They didn't exist in those seconds, those wonderfully refreshing seconds, and they never had.

However, as the cliche goes, all good things must come to an end. Unfortunately for her the end came as soon as the beginning had, and the professional side of her mind broke through the personal side, bringing all the rules and all the promises tumbling back. They shattered the moment, tore it apart, and forced her to think clearly once again, forced her to remember. Remember who she was, and who he was, and who they both were not.

Pulling away grudgingly she cursed herself for being so damn sensible. Cursed herself for thinking as much as she did. Cursed him for not thinking in the first place. Jesus, what had he done? What had _they_ done? Gasping to regain her composure she scrambled to the other side of the bed, then jumped off of it, trying to hide the flush in her cheeks and the want in her eyes. He couldn't see how much she needed him, how much she wanted to feel his lips against hers, to be able to throw the rules and the promises and the responsibilities out the window, so she could be with him. If he saw it, then she _would_, and that just couldn't happen. It just _couldn't_.

She felt trapped. Smothered by the sudden heat in the room, by the feeling of his eyes on her skin, by the ache in her heart that was scolding her for ending it, yelling and screaming for her to go to him, to make up for all those years where she wanted him, but couldn't have him. She could have it now, everything she had ever wanted. It was right there in front of her. Take it, her mind told her. Just, throw caution to the wind, and take it.

Her sudden revelation had left him confused, left him hurt, and torn between what was right and what was blissfully wrong. His mind yelled and cussed, scolding him for being such an idiot, for seeing a moment of weakness in her and using it for his own selfish purposes, for having those selfish purposes in the first place, and for not holding onto her tighter. His body, his soul, every fiber of his being, shivered with the realization of what he had done, and ached with the impulse to do it again. He sat up straight on the bed, his eyes fixed on her, and he waited. For what, he was still deciding. Waiting for her to come running back to him. Waiting for her to start yelling at him for what he had done. Waiting for her to break, or for himself to. Hell, he was even waiting for her to look at him.

She, too, was waiting. She was waiting to regain her composure, waiting for the moment where the logical side of her mind took over her emotions. Waiting for the courage to say something to him. To ask him what in the hell had just happened. She was waiting for her NYPD Detective persona to kick in, instead of being Olivia Benson, torn between doing the right thing, or giving into her desires. His eyes were still watching her, she could feel them burning into her skin, and it sent chills down her spine. She shook with the sensation, looking down at her trembling hands and let out a ragged breath that she hadn't known she had been holding in.

"Olivia..." his voice was soft and gentle, and it filled the emptiness of the room, leaving her ears and her mind ringing, setting off every alarm to add to the resounding noise. She turned to him, praying that enough time had passed that he wouldn't be able to see right through her, her chest constricting as her breaths quickened.

"Liv," his voice was cool and calm and for the life of her she couldn't understand how he was still so together, how he could sit there and look at her and not shiver with what they had just done. "What is it? What's wrong?"

She snorted. What was wrong? What the hell _wasn't_? He was her partner and she was just kissing him. More than that, he was married, and he was Catholic, and they were cheating. That was what was wrong. Couldn't he see it? "We shouldn't have..." she trailed off, gesturing at the bed with her hand. He was smart, he would get the picture.

And, he did. His head tilted back with the realization, and his lips pursed together tightly. "Why not?"

Why not? Oh, there were so many ways to answer that question. She wasn't even sure where to begin. "You're married?" she offered, her right eyebrow climbing up her forehead.

His face fell, but only for a second. He had been expecting that excuse, she knew it just as well as he did. But, that didn't mean that it made her reasoning invalid. It was exactly the opposite. The fact that his marital status had crossed his mind only added credence to it. "Yeah," she said with a sigh. "That's what I thought."

"Kathy and I are separated." he pointed out, trying desperately to hold on to what they had had only minutes prior.

"But you're still married to her, Elliot." Olivia reminded him, "That's not something that I can easily ignore, and I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't be able to, either."

How did they get here? Where, along the course of the last few days, had things turned from taking care of a friend in their time of need to discussing a relationship with that same person? Why did she not notice it happening? Or, if she did, how come she hadn't stopped it?

His lack of a reply only encouraged her further, "I have my own rules for things like this, you know?"

It was his turn to snort. Oh yeah, he knew. How could he not? "To tell you the truth, Olivia. I never understood that particular rule."

"What? Not to fall in love with somebody I work with?" She shifted positions on the couch, pulling her legs underneath her. "You of all people know how dangerous and how demanding the job is. It puts enough pressure on me even when I'm single, much less when I'm seeing somebody. The canceling of the dates, explaining for the twentieth time why I can't make it, waiting for them to get fed up with all the rescheduling and just end the relationship."

"I don't see how that has anything to do an interoffice relationship," he stated.

"As bad as dating men who aren't cops is, if I was to have a relationship with a coworker things would only be ten times harder. The things that I face everyday, the dangers that I'm constantly up against, so are you. I can only imagine what would happen if we were put into a situation where a suspect had his weapon drawn on you. And, yes, I know we've gone through something like that before. But, add personal feelings into the mix and one ends up doing something incredibly stupid, because of those feelings. I don't want to be the person who screws up because my emotions got in the way- that's not me."

"Or," he added. "On the other end, it could make things easier on you."

Now that statement got to her. "How?"

"You're only taking the time to notice the downside, Olivia. Can you honestly say that things wouldn't be easier if you had somebody to talk to?"

"I talk to you alre–"

"No," he cut her off. "I mean really talk to. Not holding anything back, not being afraid of what I'm going to think if you show the wrong kind of emotion, or if you appear weaker than you would like everybody else to think you are. What then?"

"You're right," she agreed. "Things could be easier. But, that still doesn't make up for the fact that my judgement would be influenced."

"Is it not already?" he asked. "We've been in situations before where one of us was on the other end of a weapon, right? Are you really telling me that in that situation you didn't hesitate for a split-second. Not because of any romantic feelings, but because of our friendship, or even the fact that I am your partner?"

She shook her head, "Maybe it has. But, Elliot- it still wouldn't be the same."

"How will you ever know unless you give it a chance?" he questioned.

"I guess I never will," she replied, trying not to show him how much s he wished she could.

"I don't believe that that's what you want." he told her, climbing out of th e bed and making his way to the couch where she was still sitting. "I think you're scared, Olivia. And, that's not such a horrible thing, you know? I'm scared, too."

"You're also married, in case you've forgotten." she reminded him, jumping off of the couch and walking away from him. "And because of that I can't take anything you are saying to me at face value. I have to ignore it, because there can never be anything between us. Not as long as you're still wearing that ring on your finger."

"There's nothing there anymore, Olivia. She knows it and I know it, and we both know that there is no way we're ever going to get back to the way we were. Over the years we drifted apart. And yeah, maybe it was my fault, maybe I did begin to use the job as an excuse to shut her out of my life. But, she never brought me up on it. Not until it was too late. If she had thought that there was some chance we could have been salvaged she would have, instead of just letting me push her away."

"I won't be the other woman," she told him straight forward. "I don't care if your marriage has failed. The fact of the matter still remains, you and Kathy are technically husband an d wife."

"Not for long," he told her. "We're getting a divorce."

"Well, excuse me if that doesn't make me feel any better about cheating."

He was silent for a long moment. "There's something here," he gestured between the two of them. "I can feel it, and you can feel it, and all these years we've known each other it's been there, just underneath the surface. Until Scarry let it known to the public that Kathy and I were separated there was always something to hide behind, my marriage. Now that that's failed, what's stopping us? Why shouldn't we try, you never know, we could be wonderful together."

"Or," she added, her voice breaking. "We could fail, too."

"You don't believe that any more than I do," he told her, shaking his head. "Stop hiding from me, Olivia. I know you well enough to see through whatever wall you build, you can't fool me."

He said that like it was the truth, and it amused her. She couldn't fool him, huh? Wasn't she, though? He couldn't see just how much he meant to her, could he? He couldn't see that she didn't just have these _feelings_ hidden under the nice little facade she had built. Feelings didn't even begin to describe it. Olivia was in love, and she knew it, but _he_ didn't. That had been the one thing she had spent the most time on hiding, so much time, in fact, that she had perfected her technique. There was no way he could know unless she told him, which she wasn't going to be doing any time soon.

Because, even though she knew she loved him, she also knew she could live without him. It was hard, so very hard, but she had managed for a long time, and she could continue as such. It wasn't something she particularly liked, but she knew it was necessary, and she accepted it. For the most part.

She wasn't stupid. She knew that now that she knew what it felt like to kiss him, how perfect they could fit together, she knew the feeling of having his body over hers, if only for a few seconds, and it was burned into her mind. Things weren't going to be as easy as they had been before, now that she had a taste of what could be, of what he wanted to be. He would remind her of it every chance he got, and keep doing so until she ultimately gave in.

And she knew that, in the end, giving up was exactly what she was going to do.

**XXXX**

**A/N: I know, I know, I'm evil. Get you guys all excited with a bit of romance, then shoot it down (but, there's hope for the later chapters!)**

**In my opinion, it makes the story more interesting. Because, how many times can you have them admit their feelings and then all of a sudden here comes happily ever after? It just doesn't work that way. The more angst the better. As long as in the end, every thing turns out ok. Which, it will, don't worry!**

**So, let me know!**


	9. Chapter Nine

**Influenza**

**Chapter Nine**

**Disclaimer: Well, the show's not mine, nor are any of the characters in it. **

**A/N: I'm glad you guys are liking the angst, because there's gonna be just a little bit (or a lotta bit) more of it. Yeah, Elliot is still sick- you've just gotta remember that even though that chapter was a fairly good size all of that happened within the course of ten minutes, fifteen at the most! So, other than having a fever (and maybe a bit of coughing or the chills) not much is going to show in that short amount of time. He's still sick though, he's just well enough to carry out a serious conversation and all that fun stuff.**

**XXXX**

They sat staring at each other in silence for awhile, Olivia running the prior few minutes over and over in her mind, before a cough broke through her thoughts. She looked up at him, surprised for a second, having momentarily forgotten of his illness. Abandoning her musings and her pride and her convictions for the time being she left the sofa and went over to where he was still sitting on the couch bed, cautiously sitting next to him and reaching out her hand to touch his forehead. He was still burning up. God, had she been so selfish that in her own thoughts and turmoil and self-pity she disregarded the reason they both were there, disregarded his safety?

"You still have a fever," she told him with a frown, as she attempted to pull back her hand. Elliot's reflexes hadn't been affected by his illness and she found that out when his hand snapped forward and grasped her arm, forcing her to look up at him. Their eyes locked and she vainly tried to stop the rising lump in her throat and the trembling of her lip and the shiver that passed down her spine at the contact. Olivia tried to pull back, but it was just another effort in vain, he was still very much stronger than she, and she gave up her efforts after only one try, trusting that he wouldn't do anything to push her away, if he was as serious about them as he claimed to be.

Her eyes pleaded with him to speak his mind, then let her go. She was on the edge, teetering between standing firm, holding her ground, or falling once and for all. Knowing the situation and knowing her told him that the last thing she wanted to do was fall, because if she did she would fall fast and she would fall hard and it would hurt her worse than not taking the risk and not falling ever could. "What happens?" he asked, pausing to keep another cough from escaping his throat. "...What happens when I'm not married anymore?"

He watched as her eyes filled with doubt and fought the urge to pull her close to him and hug her and kiss her and chase all the demons in her life away. It was at that moment that he realized that he, himself, was becoming another one demon to add to the stack and it scared him and it scared her and neither one of them knew what to do about it, or if they even could.

"I... I'm not sure." she confessed, her voice breaking and coming out as barely a whisper. Damn her emotions and damn her uncertainty and damn him for making her feel so helpless and needy and afraid. She wanted to say screw his marriage and screw his religion and screw her rules, she just wanted to feel his arms around her and his lips crushing hers and the heat that had left her shivering with its intensity. She couldn't though, and she knew it and he knew it and they both hated it but neither one could change it.

The doubt in her eyes turned to fear when he had yet to release her arm, though his hold on her was in no way painful or threatening. He sat there for a moment, trying to decipher what was causing her to be afraid, was it him or was it her or was it what she wanted or what he wanted? The grip he had on her arm loosened enough for her to pull back if she wanted to, but she made no move, only sat, lost in the doubt and the fear and the pain that was dancing in his own dark oceans. He wanted to comfort her and he wanted to hold her and he wanted to tell her that no matter what he would wait until she was ready and she wanted the same, but wouldn't allow herself to take it.

This was madness and this was wrong but this was him and this was her and it _felt_ right.

She finally pulled away and broke eye contact when she knew that if they continued like that she would regret it. "I'll get you some medicine." she all but whispered, moving from the bed and into the kitchen. He watched as she went, doing best not to notice the way the tank top she was wearing was ridding up, revealing her milky skin. Adverting his eyes to the closest object, the TV remote, he waited until she came back with whatever she was planning on giving him.

"I'm not going to shove the pills down your throat, ya know?" she asked, the slightest bit of humor breaking through the awkward silence. Elliot turned to look at her, a slightly bemused expression on his face, and she gave him the smallest of smiles. "You looked kind of out there..." handing him the pills the smile disappeared, leaving space for the awkwardness to return.

"Yeah," he agreed, swallowing the Tylenol she had given him. "Sorry..."

Her eyes traveled to where his had just been, and fell on the channel changer. "You want to see if there's anything good on?"

He frowned, but nodded nonetheless. She was pushing them away and she was changing the subject and this was the only thing that would keep her from falling apart, this was her saving grace and her greatest mistake... all at the same time. Leaving the channel surfing up to him she headed back for her sofa and curled up in the far corner of it, wrapping herself with the afghan that had been resting on its back. For a moment he couldn't help but watch, she moved with power and authority but at the same time she moved with a certain kind of grace and ease and it was incredibly appealing.

When a loud commercial broke through the silence he turned his attention back to the TV, wondering if she had noticed him staring, or if she was too busy avoiding him to see. He changed the station again, sighing as he pulled his covers around his body tighter, fighting the sudden chill in the room. She didn't seem effected, though, so he figured it was just the flu rearing its ugly head again, and scowled to himself.

"I think I'm going to sleep..." he told her, although it didn't really matter if she knew or not. Or at least, that's what they were both trying to convince themselves. "You want the remote?"

She looked over at him, an unreadable expression dancing in her dark eyes, and shook her head. "No... I'm going to clean around the apartment."

Which translated into: _the farther I am from you when you're sleeping the better_. It was understandable, he guessed. The reason they were so distant from each other in the first place originated while one of them, or both of them, had been asleep.

Elliot nodded, then closed his eyes and rested his head against the pillows with a tired sigh. Before he fell asleep he thought of a way to fix things between him and Olivia, at least for the time being, but didn't get much work done. He was out in less than five minutes.

**XXXX**

Olivia felt a sick feeling creep over her as she watched him fall asleep. When she had gone to the kitchen to get him some medicine she hadn't brought back regular Tylenol, but the nighttime version of the popular pill. It had taken effect quicker than she imagined, and for that she was thankful, but it didn't help the knot in her stomach that had formed as soon as he had swallowed the medicine. She was being selfish and she was being self centered and she hated it, but under the circumstances she didn't see how she had any other choice.

He was starting to get to her. Her emotions were sitting on her sleeve and for the life of her she couldn't figure out how to hide them and she was beginning to break and beginning to think that maybe giving in wasn't such a bad thing and she couldn't do that- not now and not anytime soon.

She hadn't been lying when she told him that she was going to clean up while he slept. However, she did wait a few minutes before she got up. In those minutes she simply watched him, making sure that his sleep wasn't restless or he didn't wake up. When she was confident that he was out and the pills had done their job she got up from the couch, and went to work.

A few hours later her buzzer went off. She jumped slightly, not sure who would be at her apartment and why, and headed for her speaker. "Hello?"

"Hi, Olivia," a young woman's voice came from the other end. It didn't take Olivia two seconds to recognize that the voice belonged to Kathleen. "Do you mind if I come up?"

Olivia smiled at the question, "Of course I don't." With a simple press of a button Kathleen was allowed into the building and Olivia went to her door to wait for the girl to make it there. A minute or so later there was a knock at the very door she was standing in front of and Olivia opened it quickly.

"Come on in, you're dad is asleep."

"Asleep?" Kathleen repeated, looking around the apartment. "Why?"

"He caught the flu from me," Olivia told her with a sigh. "I told him that he shouldn't have taken care of me... but Cragen did order him to."

"He got his flu shot, though," Kathleen informed her, much like her father had done the day before. "How can he have caught the flu from you?"

"The shots weren't the best this year," Olivia told her, taking her coat. "A bunch of people who were inoculated against the virus still ended up getting sick. I wouldn't worry about it too much, his case isn't as bad as mine was. Which, is probably since he had the shot."

"What about you?" the younger woman asked. "Did you not get yours?"

Olivia shook her head, "I figured those who needed it most deserved it more than I did."

"Oh," she said. "You don't mind that I'm here, right?"

"Not at all," Olivia assured her. Which, was the God's honest truth. Olivia was relieved for the interruption. "I was about to order out something for dinner... the only thing I have around the house is soup and I've had enough of that for awhile. Do you want to stay and wait for your dad to wake up? He's been out for awhile."

Kathleen nodded, she had come for a reason anyway. There was something of great importance she needed to discuss with her father. Something that couldn't really wait all that long. "How are you feeling, Livie?" she asked, following her into the kitchen, where Olivia picked up the phone to order.

Ignoring the nickname that Dickie had given her years prior she smiled reassuringly, "I'm all better now. Your father took very good care of me."

He _sure_ did. Olivia shook the thoughts out of her head and dialed the familiar number of the Chinese delivery place down the road. "What do you want?"

"I'll eat whatever you're getting," Kathleen told her with a shrug. "If it's Chinese then I like it."

She nodded and ordered her usual, peppered steak and chicken fried rice, with a side of lou mein. The man said it would take fifteen to twenty minutes, and the cost was 6 dollars, then hung up. Olivia gestured for Kathleen to sit down in one of the chairs at the table, then she, too, took a seat of her own. "So... how is school going?"

Kathleen smiled, everybody asked that, no matter how often they saw her. Which, she hadn't seen Olivia since her parents... "School's going good. I love all my classes and I'm on the yearbook staff this year, so I'm busy a lot."

"You still play soccer?"

She nodded, "Running track, too. Although, soccer is my main priority. I think dad mentioned that you played soccer in high school once, right?"

Olivia grinned, "Yeah. I was a full back. What position do you play?"

Kathleen's grin was almost as wide as Olivia's had been, "Stopper."

"That's a good position to play." Olivia said, "I played stopper for half a season after one of the girls tore her ACL."

"Ouch," Kathleen commented, making a face. "One of the guys who play for our school, Josh, did that last year. It's not pretty. He was out for the whole season and was on crutches forever. Josh wasn't too happy about that."

With a nod of response her attention traveled behind Kathleen, and the smile on her face dropped considerably. Kathleen noticed the change in her expression and turned around to see what she was looking at.

"Oh, hi daddy." she greeted her father, who was standing in the doorway to the kitchen wearing a confused look. "We didn't wake you, did we?"

**XXXX**

**A/N:**

**Let me know what you think. I tried to get away from all the angst for awhile and continue on with the rest of the story, rather than dwelling on half an hour... :) **

**Anyhow, review please!**


	10. Chapter Ten

**Influenza**

**Chapter Ten**

**Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine, the flu isn't mine, but the idea and the story belong to me.**

**XXXX**

Elliot nodded sleepily, yeah he had been asleep until he had been woken by two voices coming from the kitchen- one which sounded a lot like his middle child. "It's alright, though," he assured her. "I needed to wake up anyway."

Olivia frowned, obviously not agreeing with that statement, and pointed towards the counter, "The medicine is there, if you think you need anything else. There's more water in the fridge, or orange juice, if you want some. You can't have any soda's or beer, though, not until you're better. There's soup, too, in the cabinet, you know where... Kathleen and I ordered Chinese."

He nodded and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, then sat down next to his daughter, across from Olivia. Their eyes met for the briefest of moments before she turned away, looking at Kathleen. "You said that there was something that you needed to talk to your dad about, right?"

She nodded, that she did.

"I'm going to leave you two to talk about whatever it is, then..." she got up from the table, ignoring the way Elliot was watching her, and smiled at the young girl lightly. "I'll be right in the living room if either of you need anything." and with that statement she left the kitchen, once again acting as if she didn't know his eyes followed her out.

Elliot fought to keep himself in his seat, he wanted to run after her, tell her that he did need something. Her. Instead he gripped the edge of his seat tightly and sent his daughter a questioning look, "What do you need to talk about, Kathleen?"

"It's about the separation," she clarified nervously. "Mom won't tell us _anything_... and even though Maureen and I both understand that this isn't just a temporary thing, Dickey and Elizabeth still think that you two are going to get back together, that we're going to be a big, happy family again one day. I tried to explain that sometimes, no matter how much two people love each other, things just don't work, but they're not getting it. They're too young to realize that pretty soon they'll have to be choosing between living with mom or living with you..." she looked down at her hands. "I was just wondering how soon that day is going to be?"

All he could do was shake his head, "I don't know Kathleen, one of the reasons your mother hasn't told you anything is because we don't know anything, yet. We're still trying to figure out what's going on here, what happened, and what our next move is. Yes, we've discussed divorce, right now we're just not sure if that's what we really want." Then again, with what he had just done a few hours prior, he was pretty sure that now he did know what he wanted, and it wasn't Kathy. "If we do end up getting a divorce, it could take a long time, as they normally do."

"Not if you two care enough about each other to make it a clean break," Kathleen told him. "If you just agree to it and work out something that will work for both of you, why should it take a long time? If it's what you both want, shouldn't it go by quickly?"

"Kathleen, your mother is pretty upset with me- if you haven't already noticed."

"She's not upset," Kathleen chided. "She's disappointed, Dad. Her marriage has failed, after more than twenty years... doesn't it upset you? The one thing that she always counted on is no longer there for her to fall back on, she's lost one of the most important things in her life. She doesn't hate you and she's not mad at you, she's furious with herself because she thinks that she let you go, that she could have changed things and made you stay."

"I didn't leave your mother, Kathleen," Elliot reminded her. "She left me."

The teenager shook her head, "No, dad... you were gone long before she moved us into grandma's house. Maybe not physically, but you're heart just wasn't in it anymore. If I could see that, don't you think she could too?"

"Are you trying to make me feel like this is my fault, Kathleen?" he questioned.

She shook her head, "Of course I'm not, daddy. Not entirely, at least. But, it's not like you can really say you had nothing to do with it, and neither can mom. It was a combination of both of you and your work and her work and a lot of other things, but mainly it's the fact that somewhere along the line, you both gave up on it. You threw yourself into your work and mom sat by and let you do it, without giving much effort to stop you..."

Elliot coughed for a few seconds and then replied, "When did you become such an expert at relationships?"

"Not relationships," Kathleen told him. "Just yours... I've had a lot of time to think about it, dad. Maureen and I have talked it over at least a hundred times, basically throwing out our ideas and feelings to each other and then discussing them and trying to make sense out of them. It's not like we could have gone to mom, and forget talking to grandma... and you, you've been busy with work."

For the first time since they had begun to talk Elliot noticed how tired his daughter looked. "How are you, sweetheart?"

Kathleen gave him a genuine smile and reached out to touch his arm, "I'm ok, daddy. It's hard, but I'm dealing with it. School is going good and I'm starting to look at some colleges... I think I might go to Hudson. Maureen says she really likes it there."

He frowned, remembering that Kathleen was in her Junior year, and that after this year she only had one to go before she left home. "That's good, honey..."

"I just wish this was all over with, you know? It's hard, not being able to see except for every other weekend, trying to pretend like it doesn't bother me when grandma starts talking about the situation, having to let the twins dwell in their little fantasy land where we're still the perfect family... I just want it to be over."

Elliot reached out to his daughter and pulled her into a comforting hug. She held on to him tightly, missing the days where she could have just crawled into his lap when she was feeling badly. This was good enough, she guessed, and she would take anything that she could get. "It will be," he promised, "...soon..."

She nodded into his chest, but didn't let go, not that he intended on doing so either, at least not for a few minutes. It had been forever since his daughter had even come to him with something that was troubling her, and even less things nowadays. With them always with their mother it left his contact with his children minimal. He had never really realized just how much better they made him feel by their presence, until the day that they were gone. Now when he got home from a case in a bad mood he continued to sulk and brood, before when he would come home sour he put on a happy face and sat down with his family for dinner, or breakfast, or whatever meal it was, and by the end of the day the smile on his face was a genuine one, not some facade he forced to fool his wife and children into thinking he wasn't having a shitty day.

In the end, it was Kathleen who finally pulled away from the rare embrace, wearing a weak smile. "Should I be the one asking how you're feeling?"

He snorted, "Probably... I'm getting better, though. It's not too bad, nothing like Olivia's was. I've never seen the flu that bad before. And I had to take care of you when you got sick..." he shuddered jokingly and she laughed at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she denied. "I've never been sick a day in my life."

"Sure... but that didn't stop you from taking days off from school," he winked at her. "Come on, let's go out into the living room and wait for your food."

"You're not hungry?" she questioned.

"Not really," he told her, shaking his head. "I might eat something later."

Kathleen nodded, getting up from her seat and making her way out of the kitchen. Elliot sighed deeply when she was gone, then followed her out the door.

**XXXX**

Olivia was watching TV when Kathleen came out of the kitchen, wearing a large grin on her face. The girl had appeared happy when she arrived, but Olivia had been concerned at the dimness of her eyes. Now it seemed to her that she was genuinely happy, whatever she and her father had talked about must have cleared up a few things for her, because Olivia definitely could see a difference.

Elliot followed her out a few seconds later, looking a bit better than he had before, but he looked like he was waging an internal battle and Olivia briefly wondered what it was about. Kathleen flopped down onto the couch bed and scooted over to the farthest end of it, making room for her father to sit down next to her, which Elliot did. He looked over at Olivia and his eyes clouded over with an emotion she couldn't decipher.

"How's work, Olivia?" Kathleen asked, looking over at the woman as well.

"The ususal," she replied. "It's been a tough couple of cases, but... when are they not hard?" She gave her a small smile, "What about you? Have you decided what you're going to study in college yet?"

"Actually," Kathleen replied, "I've been considering law..."

"Really?" Olivia inquired, interested. "What type of law?"

"I was thinking about being a prosecutor, or maybe just have my own firm... I haven't really decided yet."

"You've got plenty of time," Olivia assured her. "Just don't stress over it too much."

The teen nodded, "Is there anything good on?"

Olivia glanced at the TV that was till turned on, frowning. "Probably not, but you can see if you want to," she threw her the channel changer and Kathleen started to flip through the stations. After a few minutes of finding nothing particularly interesting to watch she turned the station to a random channel, then began to TV surf again.

Not long after that her buzzer went off and Olivia got up from the couch she was sitting on to answer it. The person at the other end introduced himself as Michel Chu, and told her that he had her delivery ready. She buzzed him in and headed for the kitchen to get her purse. By the time he knocked on the door she had the money to pay him, so just as soon as he had arrived he left.

"Do you think you're up for some Chinese food?" she asked Elliot as she headed into the living room.

He shook his head, "Oh not even close... I told Kathleen I'd have some soup later."

She gave him an incredulous look, but nodded all the same. "I can see to that," she threatened, pulling out her take out boxes. She split the food up, putting half of each dish into on box, and then the other halves into another, then handed Kathleen one. "Do you want something to drink? Soda or water?"

"Water is fine," Kathleen told her, taking a bite of the chicken fried rice. Olivia nodded and headed into the kitchen, grabbing two bottles of water from the fridge. When she returned she handed one to Kathleen and sat back down on the couch, turned towards the TV. "Did you find something to watch?" she questioned, frowning as another commercial came on.

Kathleen nodded, "Some Clint Eastwood movie that dad said was really good..."

Olivia nearly chocked on her water, then sent a dirty look at her partner, who only shrugged and did his best to look innocent. Kathleen didn't understand, so she paid no attention to them, and focused on the movie as it came back on. Elliot and Olivia were still looking at each other, and the expression on his face was now far from innocent. He smiled guiltily, sending chills down her spine. Good Lord in Heaven, how could he possibly have such a profound effect on her by smiling!

He noticed her dilemma, which only caused the smile on his face to turn into a full out grin. She did her best not to melt into a pile of goo all over her couch but for the life of her could not get enough sense to look away from him.

In her mind's eye she went back to hours earlier, when they had been kissing, and she could feel her cheeks flush with the memory. Elliot was looking at her as if he could jump her right then and there and not regret it or feel the consequences, leaving Olivia to thank God that his daughter was there so that neither one of them could do something that _she_ would regret. Finally able to pull her eyes away from his she turned towards the movie and sighed, something he had said to her earlier echoing in her mind.

"_Why shouldn't we try, you never know, we could be wonderful together."_

She could already feel herself giving in...

**XXXX**

**A/N: Well there it is... more angst, but this time it's on Elliot, too. I felt bad for Olivia, I was dumping her with all the confusion... it didn't seem fair. :) Anyway, let me know.**


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Influenza **

**Chapter Eleven**

**Disclaimer: The show and the characters are just something that I am borrowing for the time being. I do not make a profit from my works, unless reviews count! Then I'd be rich!  
**

**XXXX**

"I'll see you later, daddy," Kathleen promised, kissing her father on the cheek. "You stay in bed and do whatever Olivia tells you to, alright? I want to be able to see you next weekend, and I can't do that if you're still sick." She grinned at him and turned to Olivia, "It was nice to see you again, Olivia."

Olivia nodded, "You can drop by any time."

Kathleen smiled in response and nodded, "Thanks." With another look at her father she turned and headed for the door, pulling out her keys as she did so. Within minutes she was gone. Sam turned to the TV and sighed, the original movie they had been watching was long since over and an old 007 movie was on, Sean Connery playing Bond. It was certainly more interesting than whatever had been on before, but she still could not manage to pay close enough attention to get involved in the movie.

"Do you think you'll be up to working tomorrow?" she questioned, taking her gaze away from the television set to look at him.

He shrugged, "I don't know... I feel a lot better, but with the flu you can never be too sure."

Damn. She had been hoping that he would be better and that they could return to work the next day better than ever and forget that the whole weekend had even happened. Yeah, that was a laugh. There was no way she would ever forget what had gone on in the past few days. Oh, she would ignore it and pretend like she had forgotten the best she could, but it would never really go away. She wasn't even sure she wanted it to, not completely. The moments she had spent with him over the last three days would probably be the only things keeping her warm at night during the harshness of the winter.

"I think I'm going to ask her for a divorce," he said out of the blue. Olivia looked over at him, surprised at the confession.

"Why?"

"_Why_?" he repeated. "Well, for one, she obviously doesn't want to be with me any longer, so why bother holding on to something that I've already lost? Second, my feelings for you would kind of get in the way, even if she did want me back... so, that's not going to work." Elliot shrugged his shoulders, "We're both different people now- and there isn't a thing that either one of us can do about it. Even if one of us wanted to."

Her breath caught in her chest and she had to make herself look away from his entrapping eyes. God, the things that man could do to her with just one look! If he only knew... "I'm not going to be the reason you leave your wife, Elliot."

"You can't be," he told her, nonchalant. "She already left me, so there's no way I can leave her."

"That doesn't change anything, Elliot... you're still married and I still won't be the other woman. No matter how much I'd like to be or how strong your feelings are. I'm sorry," she said, "I just can't."

"I would never ask you to be the other woman, Olivia. I don't want to burden you with that." He climbed off of the bed and made his way over to the couch where she was sitting, "I just want to know something."

"What?" she questioned, holding her breath when he sat down next to her, leaving no space between them.

"Will you wait for me? Until after the divorce?" His eyes were dark and hopeful, "Can I count on you to still be there?"

Against her better judgement she reached out and caressed his cheek, her own eyes dark with emotion. "Of course you can, of course I will," she whispered, cursing herself at the way her voice broke. "I can wait."

He reached out his own hand and brought it to the nape of her neck, pulling her to him. Their lips crushed together in one last moment of moment of disregard for the rules and the promises made, and in that moment she let the rational side of her mind shut down, giving in to her emotions completely. She clung to him desperately, needing this final contact for her sanity. He held her just as tightly, gripping the fabric of her shirt in his hands, also needing the final embrace in order to keep control. Which, was strange because most would say that by doing what he had he was losing his control.

They had enough sense to pull away when things got to be too much. He had promised her that she wouldn't be the other woman and he had promised his wife he would stay faithful and he had promised himself that he would wait until he was divorced until they started anything up. Elliot knew that, when they did becoming involved, there would be no way he could turn back, and no way he could hide it. He would wait. He had to.

"I should go," he whispered, running his fingers through her hair.

"You're sick," she replied breathlessly, her eyes still closed. "You can't take care of yourself while you've got the flu."

Elliot smiled lightly, "I'll be fine. I swear."

Her eyes opened and she noticed uncertainty dancing in his. He didn't want to leave any more than she wanted him to, but he knew he had to, if they were going to stick to their decisions. Staying would only lead them further into temptation. Which might feel right and like the right thing to do, but what they both knew was exactly the opposite. She nodded, moving her arms from around his neck and sheepishly looking away.

"I'll see you at work tomorrow?"

"Maybe," he replied, taking his own arms from around her torso. "Probably."

He got off of the couch and she looked over at the space he had once occupied, telling herself that him leaving was the best thing. Fighting the urge to stop him from walking out her door she grasped onto the sofa, the fabric burning in her hands. He looked back at her when he made it as far as the front door, briefly, and then left.

She still held onto the couch, her hands shaking with the force she was using, the whites of her knuckles making themselves known. With a deep, ragged breath she finally let go, then stretched out her sore fingers. Her knuckles cracked in retaliation and she winced at the sharp pop the action produced.

What was she going to do?

**XXXX**

He slumped forward in the front seat of his car, resting his head against the steering wheel, in hopes of gathering some equilibrium. His legs had been shaky as he left her apartment and he had nearly collapsed on his way down the stairs, thankfully there had been a railing for him to grasp onto, so he hadn't. However, he was sure that it wasn't just his sickness that had caused such an effect on him. It was her.

It was amazing how much he had changed in the last three days. Before, he was calm and together, Elliot the super cop, ready to take on anything the scum of the city had to throw at him. Now, he was nervous and confused and it was all because of his feelings for his partner. How on earth would he ever return to normal after all of that?

A good ten minutes after he had forced himself into his car he forced his key into the ignition and started it up. After revving the engine up a bit, in order to warm it from the chilly November wind, he took off for his own empty house. He opted to leave the radio off, in order to give him some extra time to think during the fairly long ride back to Queens.

So, he was really going to ask Kathy for a divorce? It was an odd feeling, knowing his marriage was over. Strange was it was, he didn't really feel that bad about it. He and Kathy had truly been over for awhile, and as cliché as it sounds, they had really only stayed together for their kids. The twins were nearing thirteen, so they would understand now, and Kathleen was getting closer and closer to seventeen everyday. Maureen was twenty and off at college, and had known for quite some time that her parents relationship was falling apart. She had never mentioned it to him, but he could tell she had known. He had raised a very bright woman, as it were. So there was no reason to keep up with the façade of a happy marriage any longer. Kathy couldn't take pretending any more, and honestly he was getting to the end of his ropes, as well.

The realization of a failed marriage had torn at his insides only a months prior, but now it only felt like a huge weight being lifted off of his shoulders. Or his heart, more accurately. No matter how cheesy that may come off as sounding. He had kept his feelings for his partner locked inside of him for a long time, because he was married to another woman he wouldn't acknowledge his growing emotions for her, and instead of them going away and disappearing when he denied their existence they had only grown and become more profound. And, though he hadn't meant for things to happen that way, now he was glad that they had.

Stopping at a red-light he let his thoughts wonder from the events of the past few days, to the events of the days to come. It would be hard, he admitted, seeing her everyday knowing she felt the same way for him as he did for her. Things wouldn't be as easy as hiding his emotions behind his professional façade. They would have to pretend as if the last three days had never occurred and they hadn't really broken down the walls that they had built to shut each other out and to keep their feelings hidden. He would have to go to work and face her, finally knowing what it was like to hold her in his arms, to kiss her, and to feel her body beneath his. It was going to be hard, but if he was ever going to be able to be with her, then pretending like it hadn't happened was something he would just have to do.

His cell phone rang as he pulled into his driveway and he glanced down at the screen before answering it. 555-2578; it was Kathy. Why on earth would she be calling? Unless, Kathleen had made it home and her and her mother had discussed the same topic that he and his daughter had. He picked up the phone on the third ring, "Stabler."

"Hey," she greeted. "It's me."

Elliot nodded, although nobody was around to see him do so. "Yeah- listen, we need to talk..."

**XXXX**

Olivia was almost late getting into work that morning. Not because she had slept through her alarm or taken a bit longer in the shower than she had intended to, but because she had been standing on the front steps of the station for nearly fifteen minutes trying to work up the nerve to go inside and face him. After that time she had no choice, if she stayed out any longer she would be late, and she prided herself on never doing so. So, she had pushed her nervousness aside (as best she could), taken a deep breath, and dived into the chaos.

He was sitting at his desk when she entered, leaning over a pile of paperwork, writing something down. When she sat in her seat he leaned back in his, stuck the end of his pen in his mouth, and picked up the file to read it further. Try as she might, she couldn't pull her eyes away from his mouth, he was chewing on the pen, lost in thought.

_Get a hold of yourself, Olivia,_ she chided herself. _You've never let your feelings for him get in the way of work before._

That was true, but she had never known he felt the same was before- either. God, she felt like she was trapped in some b-rated Spanish soap opera. Finally doing what her conscious had told her to, she tore her eyes away from the pen he was chewing on with such force, and directed her gaze to her own stack of paperwork. With a sigh she picked up the first file, scanned it over, then began her writing.

Somewhere during the course of the morning he had given up with his paperwork and started to joke around with Munch and Fin, which she understood. One could only do so much writing before their mind started to black out, her's was beginning to shut down, as well. If she didn't take a break soon, she would go nuts. Setting down her pen she rubbed her face with the palms of her hands, before running her fingers through her hair anxiously. She needed some fresh air, or some more coffee... probably both. While the three men went back and forth with their friendly banter she pushed back her chair and got up with a sigh, ignoring the sharp stab of protest her still sore legs gave her from the motion. Sitting for a long time while healing from the flu wasn't the smartest thing to do, anyway.

After pouring herself a fresh cup of coffee she left the bull pen, headed outside to stand where she had been hours prior. The steps provided many places to rest and she sat down on one of the ones nearest the door, taking a sip of her coffee and a deep breath of cold, clean air (at least, as clean as the city air could be). She watched the people pass by the station, walking briskly against the nippy winds of November. It was relaxing, in a way. When she was busy thinking about other peoples lives, where they're headed and who they're meeting up with, she could forget about hers.

After a minute or so he was sitting next to her, not that she was surprised. She had been waiting for him to show up. He didn't say anything for a moment, instead he peopled-watched with her, but after a few seconds he broke the silence.

"Kathy called last night..."

"Oh yeah?" she asked. "What did she say?"

"Well," he replied, "it's really more what I said that's the point here."

"Then what did you say?"

He sighed, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, "I asked her for a divorce."

"And...?"

"She agreed with me."

Olivia's insides jumped at the thought, but she ignored it and continued to watch the pedestrians pass. "I don't really know what to say, Elliot. Congratulations isn't exactly something you tell a person who is getting a divorce, and I guess an 'I'm sorry' wouldn't be the truth... As long as it's what you want then... well? As long as you're happy."

He took hold of her hand and slid his fingers into hers, intertwining them for a brief moment. "I am."

**XXXX**

**A/N: Not done yet, guys. Keep reviewing, keep reading, there's more to come!**


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Influenza**

**Chapter Twelve**

**Disclaimer: Not my show, not my characters. My idea, though.**

**XXXX**

Two weeks passed after her return to work, neither had mentioned what had happened at her apartment any and generally, they tried to stay away from non-work related topics in general. The last thing both of them needed was to get back into a relationship discussion and have things go too far, which they knew would inevitably happen if they got into such a talk. Other than work, they saw each other twice in that fourteen day period, once on coincidence, at the store (he had gone just after getting off work, which was why he was shopping in Manhattan, instead of Queens) and the other time because of Kathleen. The kids were staying over at his place the weekend after she had the flu, and his middle child was making dinner, so she decided to invite Olivia to come, as well. Not wanting to appear rude to his children she agreed to come, and had actually had a great time. Kathleen was a wonderful cook and the kids took her mind off of their father and the situation the two of them were in.

After those two weeks Elliot's divorce started going into motion, paperwork was beginning to be signed and things were being separated between the two households. One of them would be keeping the house, since it was almost fully paid off, and the other would just have to find someplace new. Who was which depended on the children and which parent they would be staying with most of the time. Of course, both wanted the kids to live with them, but there wasn't really a way that could happen. They would have shared custody, but neither parent wanted to have to keep moving the children back and forth between houses. They shouldn't have to suffer.

Even though he had detested the idea, Elliot finally settled the issue. He would buy an apartment in Manhattan, close to work, and Kathy could stay at the house. Because of his lack of a work-schedule there wasn't really a way the kids could live with him full time, especially with Dickey and Elizabeth being so young still. Kathleen would be a great help in driving them places, but the almost 17 year old had a life of her own, and would be going places by herself. Kathy, who had a stable, 9 to 5 job, could take care of the kids much better by herself than he could. They were allowed to come over whenever they wanted to, though, as long as both parents knew about it.

There was still a lot more that had to be done, but they got the basics out of the way, and since neither was fond of a messy divorce the process would run smoothly. It would take about a month for everything to be finished and the divorce final, but it was understandable, and really, when most took three times that, or longer, why would they argue?

He began hunting for an apartment almost immediately, the process was long and rough but after a few weeks he found a two bedroom place about a ten minute walk from the 1-6. Not to mention a five minute drive from a certain detective's apartment, although he chose not to mention that when he discussed the new place with his children and soon-to-be ex-wife. Not that he felt that his feelings for her were wrong, he just figured it would save him a lot of talking not to say anything about it. And, Kathy was a smart woman, she knew where Olivia lived, and it was only a matter of connecting the dots.

"Are you seeing her?" Kathy had asked one day, after a meeting to discuss the bank account that was in both of their names.

Elliot didn't even bother to as who Kathy was talking about, "No." he told her truthfully. "We're still married. I'm not going to cheat and she's not going to be the other woman."

"But you do have feelings for her?"

"Yeah," he said, nodding his head. "I do. But, I also still have feelings for you and I'm not going to treat our marriage like it was nothing by cheating. You were my first love, Kathy, and I will always acknowledge that– no matter what happens when all of this is finally over."

"Where did we go wrong?" she questioned, sitting down in a office chair. Both their lawyers had left by that point so they were alone in the room and she wasn't uncomfortable having the conversation.

He shook his head and sat down next to her, "I don't know if there's even an answer to that question, Kath. I'm not sure if there was really a point in our lives together where things abruptly ended and things changed. It was a gradual thing, me always at work, you working and then coming home to be super-mom. It's not that we didn't have time for each other, it's that we stopped finding time for each other. And I'm not saying that it's all you or it's all me, because I know that my job is no excuse and I should have been able to come home ever now and then, but I also know that if you had only asked me more often then I would have made the time. Somehow. Somewhere along the years were started to drift apart, and rather than trying to swim back to each other, we just allowed the tide to take us where it wanted."

"And the tide took me to my mothers and you to Olivia's?"

"No," he said with a sigh. "Olivia is a completely different story. I don't know when it happened or how it happened or even why it happened, but over the years that I have been working with her my respect for her and our friendship evolved into something more than just partnership and mutual respect. I didn't even realize it until it was too late and there was nothing I could do about it." He smiled slightly and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, "But even though I started to see her as more than a friend I never once stopped loving you. I will always love you, Kathy."

She nodded sadly, "But sometimes love just isn't enough."

Elliot nodded and stood up from his chair, looking down at her. "I will always be here for you, Kathy. No matter what happens, I still want to be your friend. We were so good at that."

"Yeah," she said, "we were, weren't we?"

"If you ever need me, just call, alright?"

"I will," she promised. As Elliot started to leave the room she called out to him again, "I like her, you know? I tried not to, I wanted to hate her for the longest time."

"Olivia?" he asked, turning about around to look at his wife.

She nodded, "I started to see things, you know? You would come home from work, looking like somebody had died, which I know was probably the case mostly, but still... that's not the point. You would look so depressed and detached, then I would ask you what happened... you never would tell me. And I understand that, really, I do. I know that what you do is probably one of the most emotion-draining jobs in the world, and you never wanted me and the kids to have to go through what you went through. I'm thankful for that. But, then you would start to talk about her, something that had happened to her or some creep she had locked away, and you wouldn't look so detached anymore. Your eyes were brighter and your shoulders weren't slumped and I could feel you slipping away from me day after day. And your right, I didn't do anything to stop it. Because, truthfully, I didn't think there was anything I could do. How do you compete with somebody like Olivia? She's beautiful and strong and even though she had such a horrible childhood she can still smile and when she was around the kids I could just tell that she has a way with (children), so I could only imagine how she was with the ones you came across at work. After all she's been through she can still be gentle and kind, and that's rare."

"Kathy, Olivia is no better than you are. You are a wonderful woman, you put up with taking care of four children practically by yourself and never once complained. You've helped God knows how many people at work and no matter what you're always kind and gentle. You've got one of the best personalities out of anybody that I know and hardly ever lose your temper, and you've got a classic beauty that most women only dream of, even after being a mother for almost 21 years."

"Even so, if it had to be anybody, I'm glad that it's her."

He smiled, "You're going to find somebody, Kathy. Somebody who's going to treat you better than I ever could and will find the time to be with you no matter what. I know you will. When you do, don't let him go because of the ways that I screwed up. You deserve so much better than I was."

Kathy didn't really believe that but she nodded anyway. "I hope you're right."

**XXXX**

_A week later:_

The divorce was almost final and Elliot was finally moving in to his apartment in the city. After having to buy nearly every piece of appliance and furniture imaginable in order to do so. He decided that it wasn't going to be so bad. There was a nice view of the city from his living room and bedroom windows and the guest room was big enough to fit two full beds in it. That had been designated the girls room. For Dickey he bought a fold out couch, deciding that he would give his son the choice to either stay in his room or on the couch in the livingroom. The kitchen wasn't too big, but he wasn't much of a cook anyway, and the bathroom for the guest room had two sink heads which would prove very important when having two teenage girls over. All in all, it was perfect for what he needed.

Munch and Fin had come over to help him move all of the furniture and to celebrate their success they ordered pizza and watched TV on his newly installed cable box, while drinking beer of course. While Elliot was flipping through the many stations he had Fin made an observation.

"Olivia isn't here..."

"No shit, sherlock." Munch retorted. "Did you just figure that one out?"

"I meant why isn't she here, dipshit."

"She said she was busy with something," Elliot replied, not wanting to hear their battle of the wits. "She has a court date in the morning, so I guess she's working on her testimony.'

"Oh..."

"Any more brilliant epiphanies?" Munch questioned.

"You're an ass?" the man offered.

"Quit it you two, you'd better not talk like this around my children."

"Only the twins."

Elliot rolled his eyes and sighed, turning his attention back to the TV.

"How are things going between you and Olivia, anyway?" Fin asked. "You two seem a bit distracted at work."

"It's nothing, Fin. Don't worry."

"He never said he was worried about you," Munch supplied. "I wouldn't be either, if you and Olivia had something going on..."

"Well," Elliot spat out. "We don't."

"Ok..."

"Sure."

"You know what guys, it's late... I have to pick the kids up early tomorrow. Do you think we could call it a night?"

"Yeah," Munch sighed, deciding that they could pick up the conversation later. "I'd better start for home before I get too drunk, anyway."

"See you later, Stabler." Fin told him, getting up from the couch. "When is your final court date?"

"Next Thursday."

"Then the divorce is final?" Munch questioned.

"Yup."

"'K. We'll finish our discussion next Friday, then."

They both left without another word. Elliot sighed, clicked off to TV, and headed for his brand-new bed in the masters bedroom of his brand-new apartment. He only had 6 more days until he and Kathy were no longer married and, truthfully, he was a bit afraid about what that would mean for him and Olivia. He didn't know where the road was going to lead them or if there was even a road for them to take.

But then again, the thought of her still brought chills down his spine and whenever he saw her he was still captivated by her beauty and strength. When he dreamed it was of her and when he was awake he thought of her and when they were around each other all he could do was remember the way she felt in his arms and how soft her lips had been but how much force she had kissed him with.

And he knew that, no matter what, they would make things work.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Influenza **

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Disclaimer: Nah, the show and the characters do not belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for a little while.**

**XXXX**

Nearly a week later, the papers were still being processed, and the divorce had yet to be finalized. Olivia hadn't made any indications of her feelings for him at work and she had still been avoiding him when she was away from the station house. In the almost one week time, they had crossed paths three times. Once, because of Kathleen again. It was the kids first night at their father's apartment, and Kathleen had begged her father to break in his kitchen for him– and Elliot wasn't going to say no to the offer. Kathleen's one condition was that Olivia come over as well. Elliot had mentioned that she was the only one who hadn't seen it yet, although he left out that the reason for that was because Olivia and he both were worried about what they would do were they alone in a room together. Olivia agreed to come over and have dinner with them, and then Lizzie had asked her to stay and watch a movie.

The second time, it was because of Maureen. The college student was home for the weekend and she had picked all the kids of from their house and drove to their father's apartment only to find that he wasn't there. After that, they drove to Olivia's to ask her if she knew where he was, since she was just a few minutes down the road. Olivia informed them that he was putting in over-time at work, and wouldn't be off for another hour and a half. The girls had invited her to drive around with them until they went back to their father's place, and Dickey just went along with whatever his three sisters said. They ended up shopping on Time Square, pretending to be tourists. When they headed back for their father's place Maureen wouldn't drop Olivia off, and instead they picked their father up and went out to eat. It was a good thing Maureen had a big car.

The third time, it was Munch and Fin who brought the two together, and that had a bit more consequences than the first two times did. They had closed a fairly high profile case and wanted to celebrate, but just the two of them getting drunk at O'Mally's didn't appeal to either man, so they invited the other two to come along. They had talked and laughed and joked around for a few hours before last call finally booted them out of the bar. None of them had that much to drink so driving home wasn't out of the picture. Fin ended up taking Munch home, since the man still hadn't gotten himself a car, and Olivia had begun to walk. Elliot chased after her, telling her she was in no condition to walk home alone at that time of night, and she had argued for a few minutes. She wasn't drunk and she was fully capable of taking care of herself. This he knew, but her place wasn't too far out of the way and he could drive her. She finally agreed, hesitantly, and got into the car.

"So..." she had asked, when he stopped in front of her building. "How are things going with the divorce?"

"It's not going to be final until Friday..." He shrugged, looking over at her. "Even so, it's taking a lot less time than most would."

Olivia nodded, looking ahead of her at the night-owls walking down the streets. _"Will you wait for me? Until after the divorce?" _His voice rang in her mind._ "Can I count on you to still be there?"_ She hadn't realized that the wait would be this hard on her. Finally looking over at him she smiled faintly, "Thanks for the ride, Elliot..." and with that she pulled the handle and pushed open the door of the car.

"Wait," he called after her, causing her to turn back around and look at him. "Olivia I'm sorry I'm making you do this."

"Do what, Elliot?" she questioned, closing the door.

"Waiting like this," he said, reaching out and cupping her face in his hand. "You shouldn't have to."

She sighed at the touch and brought her hand to rest atop of his, "I want to. I told you I could, and I will."

He leaned forward, pulling her closer and catching her lips with his in a brief, forbidden kiss. After a moment he pulled away, "I know you will... it won't be much longer."

"I'll see you at work tomorrow," she replied, her voice barely a whisper. "Goodnight, Elliot."

"Yeah," he said with a slight smile. "Goodnight."

With that she left the car, letting herself into the apartment building and heading up the stairs, two by two. When she got into her apartment she quickly changed into a pair of drawstring pants and a tank-top. She slid under the cold covers of her bed and shut her eyes with a sigh. Within minutes she drifted off into a sleep void of dreams.

**XXXX**

Thursday night was spent signing papers and running through the last-steps before the divorce would go through the next morning. It was nearly ten o'clock by the time everything was finished and their lawyers left the office. Elliot and Kathy followed them out, but stood on the sidewalk of the building for a few minutes, talking. "So what now?" Kathy questioned, looking at him with uncertainty. "Do we stay friends, pretend like we hate each other and never say a word to each other again, or what?"

"Like I said before, I'd like to be your friend still. I mean, I won't be able to forget everything we went through together, Kath. Will you?"

She shook her head, "Of course not."

He sighed, "No matter what, Kathy, you're always going to my first love and the mother of my children."

"But you've moved on?"

Elliot nodded, "I never meant for things to turn out this way, Kath..."

"I know," she smiled briefly. "I'll see you when you pick up the kids?"

"Yeah," he gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek. "Bye, Kathy."

As he walked off down the street towards his car she turned and went the other way, headed for hers. He started up his car and sat on the side of the street for a few minutes, thinking about where his life was going now that he wasn't going to be married anymore. Where his relationship with Olivia was really headed and how things would work out between them. He was afraid that he would make a mistake and ruin things between them like he had done with Kathy and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.

With a sigh he took off down the road, headed for his apartment. He had a busy day ahead of him and he would need all the sleep he could get.

**XXXX**

Olivia strode into the station house early Friday morning, refreshed and ready for whatever case the Captain had to throw at her. She had gone to bed early the night before, for the first time in a while, and today promised to be one of her better days. Munch was already sitting at his desk, twenty minutes early, and the light in the Captain's room was on as well. A few others sat at their desks, writing down things or talking on the phone in hushed voices. She set her things down and looked over at Munch, "You're here early."

"I've been here for an hour," he mumbled, flipping through a stack of files. "Fin and I are working a rape-homicide... he's out getting coffee."

"Rather than you making some?" she questioned with a grin.

"Funny," he said, looking up at her. "What are you doing here so early?"

"I woke up before my alarm..." she admitted, "I figured since I had nothing else to do I could get started on some overdue paperwork."

"How much earlier than your alarm did you wake up?"

She smiled sheepishly, "Almost two hours... I couldn't get back to sleep."

He gave her one of his classic suspicious looks, "Elliot's divorce if final today."

"Yeah," she said with a nod, sitting down at her desk. "I was there when he told us."

Well, that was true. "Got any thing planned for tonight? I figured if things went well with our suspect we could go out for something to drink. What do you think?" he looked at her over the rim of his glasses. "Or would he rather be alone...?"

"I don't know, Munch," she said, nonchalant. "Why don't you ask him?"

"Because he's not here..."

Olivia sighed, "Then wait until he gets here."

He started to reply but his phone rang, "Detective Munch."

As he handed his phone call she turned to her stack of files and began on her paperwork. A few minutes later Fin walked in with a tray of coffee. He grinned when he saw Olivia and handed her a cup, "I figured you'd be here by the time I got back."

She took the coffee thankfully and smiled, "How's the case coming?"

"Suspect's coming in... oh, about twenty minutes from now."

"He agreed to being questioned?"

Fin shook his head, "Nah, we've got an arrest warrant for him– he can't be picked up until then though. Somebody's sitting on him right now."

"You two aren't?"

"We're working on the evidence to put him away," he informed her. "Have you talked to Elliot lately?"

She shook her head, "He'll be here in a few minutes, though."

He nodded and went back to his desk and got to work. Ten minutes later Elliot came in and sat down in front of her, wearing a grin. She smiled back but turned to her paperwork to hide it from Munch and Fin. The last thing they needed was more reasons to interrogate her about Elliot and his divorce. A few minutes after that, Munch and Fin were called off to question their suspect and Olivia and Elliot were left relatively alone. "So..." she asked, looking over at him. "How does it feel to be a free man, Stabler?"

His grin was suggesting, "Tempting."

Olivia's breath caught in her chest and she smiled at him, "Munch is thinking about taking you out for drinks tonight."

"Oh... I think I might have to pass on that offer."

"Really?" she questioned. "Why is that?"

"I'm planning on spending a nice quiet evening at home." he informed her. "Well... maybe not quiet."

She was about to reply when the Captain came out of his office and beckoned at them, a frown on his face. Olivia sighed and got out of her seat, Elliot doing the same, and the two of them headed off for the office. Cragen filled them in on their new case and they took off for the crime scene. "Well," Elliot said, getting into his car. "Maybe that evening at home will have to wait for a day or two."

Olivia sighed and placed her hand on his thigh, low enough to where it was strictly for contact and nothing further. "Don't worry about it."

Just what did he have planned for this nice, non-quiet evening at home, anyway? He smiled over at her and then took off towards their scene.

**XXXX**

It was almost eleven o'clock at night when the Captain came out of his office, sliding on his jacket, and informed them that they should head home for the night. There was nothing more they could do when it was nearly midnight, anyway. Both sighed, setting down the files they were flipping through, and complied. He was right anyway– they had been going over the same papers for nearly two hours, looking for some kind of clue they had missed the first time around. Munch and Fin had left a few hours before, having gotten a confession from their suspect, as Munch had predicted.

They gathered their things up and left the station house after Cragen. Olivia started walking home but Elliot called after her, "I'll take you."

She glanced over her shoulder and smiled, "Nice, quiet evening at home?"

He shook his head, "Some other time. I've got an extra bed at my place though, if you would rather stay there."

"Tempting," she said with a grin. "But, I don't know... You promise to behave?"

"Would I ever not?"

"I don't know yet," she informed him, getting into his car as he turned it on. "Do you think you're trustworthy?"

His eyebrow climbed up his forehead, "I'm not sure... are you?"

"Of course I am." she said, her grin spreading. "But I don't have anything to wear."

"Your place then?"

She nodded, "Maybe some other time?"

"Oh," he said with a smile. "Most definitely."

This time it was Olivia's eyebrow to climb up her forehead. He drove to her apartment and parked across the street, since all the other spaces were full. When she moved to get out he grabbed her arm, stopping her. She turned around to look at him and he pulled her close, crushing her lips with his. Olivia was taken off guard for a moment, but eventually returned the kiss, one hand coming around his neck to pull him closer and deeper into the kiss. When he pulled away he grinned, "Goodnight, Olivia."

Catching her breath she nodded, "Yeah... night."

With that she opened the door to the car, dashing across the street at an open moment. Before she let herself into her apartment building she turned around to look at him and he grinned, starting his car up again. As she walked into the building he took off down the street, the grin still on his face.

Maybe being divorced wasn't such a bad thing.

**XXXX**

**A/N: I know what it sounds like, but no, they're not going to jump in bed together right away. A little shameless flirting is nothing bad, anyway. Well then, let me know what you think.**


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Influenza**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Disclaimer: Not my show, not my characters.**

**XXXX**

((Two days later))

Olivia sighed as she slid into her chair, finally able to take a break. Their perp was currently en route to Rikers and they had a full confession to work with. But after having only half an hour of sleep in the crib– which had been spent tossing and turning as she mulled over the case– to last her for the last 28 hours she was exhausted. Paperwork was calling her name, however, and until it got finished she would have no rest.

Across from her, Elliot was leaned over a stack of paperwork, seeming working. However, from the low snore that escaped his lips every so often she knew that he was asleep. After his snoring caught the attention of Fin, who was a good ten feet away, she saw fit to wake him with a quick kick under their desks. He flinched, sat up, and looked around sleepily, confusion dancing in his barely opened eyes.

"Afternoon, sleepyhead." she whispered. "You were snoring."

He rubbed his face with his hands in an attempt to wake himself further, "What time is it?"

"It's a little bit after noon," she informed him, wishing that she was able to fall asleep in awkward places, as well. "Much just went to get some sandwiches and chips for lunch, so I figured I'd wake you. Otherwise, I think Fin would have eaten your food."

Elliot glanced over at the man, and Fin shrugged, "Hey man, if you wanna sleep through lunch, who am I to wake you? I ain't your momma, you got Olivia for that shit."

His last statement caused Olivia to snort, "The hell he does– I was just tired of hearing his loud ass snore." She smiled sweetly at him, as if she hadn't been talking about him just then, and turned her attention to her paperwork. The sooner she finished it, the sooner she got home, and the sooner she got home the sooner she got sleep. Some weekend this had turned out to be. At least Cragen had given them Monday off, in light over them working overtime.

Since he was awake and lunch was on the way, Elliot decided that he might as well get some of his paperwork done and over with. There was a lot on his mind, concerning his day off– and he had to be well rested and refreshed for it... so that meant he needed to be home soon, like before four o'clock. Three hours or so was enough time to get done with his work, he hoped, and he really didn't have to be there, it being a weekend and all.

A few minutes and half of a page later Munch came through the door of the station house, holding a large paper bag in his hands. He set it down on his desk and began to rummage through it, handing Fin a wrapped sandwich, a bag of plain potato chips, and a coke. Then, after doing the same for himself, he tossed the bag over towards Elliot, who caught it gracefully, grabbing his lunch before handing the bag to Olivia. Soon they were all starting on lunch and reading over their paperwork.

Hours later, Olivia dropped the last file into her 'out' box and sighed, "Well... that's it for me."

Elliot glanced up at her and frowned slightly, he still had at least another half hour of work to do, "You gonna head home?"

"Oh yeah," she said with a nod. "Straight for bed."

He nodded, "I'll see you Tuesday?"

"Uh," she said with another nod, "yeah."

After grabbing her jacket and keys she nodded towards Munch and Fin to let them know she was leaving, then headed out the door. She braced herself for the cold, and walked against the wind, taking quick, long strides as she pulled her jacket tighter around her body. Why again, had she neglected to buy a car?

Minutes later she let herself into her apartment building, sighing as the warm air hit her as she entered. After getting her mail she headed up the stairs for her apartment, taking two steps at a time in an attempt to make it sooner. When she opened up her apartment door she sighed, happy to be home. As she entered the apartment, she slid off her jacket, letting it drop to the floor and land in a heap next to her discarded shoes. Olivia made her way into her kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, then headed for the living room, whereupon she stretched out across the couch and flipped on the TV. She channel surfed for a few minutes, before switching to Court TV, and then closing her eyes and letting the low glow of the screen and the soft voices from the speakers lull her to a much needed sleep.

**XXXX**

When she finally woke up, it was much later and much darker outside. The TV was still going, so there was a small amount of light in the living room, but other than that, it was completely dark. A loud clash of thunder broke through her musings about the absence of light and she was suddenly aware of what had waken her in the first place. Outside it was storming– whether it was snow or rain, she did not know, but the fact that a storm was in the works was plainly clear. A flash of brilliant white light broke through the inky black of her apartment, and the TV suddenly snapped off. When she glanced around her livingroom she noticed that her clock was off, as well. The power had gone out.

She cursed under her breath and immediately set out to find a few candles and flashlights in the kitchen. They were in an easy access area, so she was soon lighting a large candle in the living room, her flashlight sitting on the coffee table and turned in a way that it brought enough light for her to see the wicks. When her apartment was glowing with the soft flames she sat back down on the couch, cursing the Captains poor timing. Some day off tomorrow would be, since it was fairly probable that it would be storming for awhile.

The now softer rumble of thunder and occasional flash of light eventually began to further her into the sleep she had been so rudely pulled from. She would have fallen asleep, if it hadn't been for the fact that as soon as her eyes had closed a different kind of boom was brought to her attention. Somebody was at her door, knocking loudly. "Yeah, yeah," she mumbled to herself, "I'm coming... I'm coming."

The knocking ceased, and she forced herself off of the couch and towards the door, sighing to herself. Another loud crack of thunder tore through the recent silence and caused her to flinch, it was really getting bad out there. When she opened the door, flashlight in hand, she wasn't surprised at all to find a sheepish looking Elliot on the other end. "Are you crazy?" she questioned, stepping aside to let him in, "it's really coming down out there and you're driving around?"

"It wasn't this bad when I left my apartment..." he informed her with a shrug, dripping water onto her hardwood floors.

"Yeah, well, obviously that didn't last long. Come on... you need to change into some dry clothes. I think you left some behind when you had the flu," she led him into her bedroom and then began searching through her dresser, until she found the sweat pants and t-shirt that he had left. When he went off to the bathroom to change she went into her kitchen and grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge, hoping that the power wouldn't be out too long and all her food wouldn't spoil.

By the time she reached the living room he was already changed and sitting on the couch, waiting for her to enter the room. She smiled lightly and handed him the water, "So... what on earth provoked you to head out during the middle of a storm?"

He shrugged, "I'm still not used to the silence in my apartment– I called the kids, but they all have school tomorrow and couldn't come over. I guess I just wanted some company..." he shrugged and took the water from her, "you don't mind, do you?"

Olivia shook her head, "No, of course not. I was just wondering." She glanced out the window just as a flash of lightning brightened the room, "I don't know when this is going to let up, though... you're gonna be stuck here for awhile."

Elliot smiled, "No objections here," he glanced around the dimly lit apartment. "You really come prepared, eh?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "You know the cliche, _better safe than sorry_." A smile spread across her lips, "Well, obviously you don't... since you're partial to driving in the middle of a torrential downpour."

The sheepish look returned, and he grinned lightly, "You think we can forget about that...?"

"I'll try," Olivia told him with a grin. "So... now that you're here, we have no TV to watch and no lights to see with... what do you suggest we do?"

"I've got a few ideas," he said with a devious grin, "but they're not very Catholic like..."

"Elliot Stabler," Olivia cried, smacking him, "you can just forget about those thoughts, buster."

He frowned playfully, "So do you have a better idea?"

"Well... actually, I do. It's what... almost 10 o'clock? It's late, storming outside, and all the power is out. I don't know what you're gonna do, but I could do with a full nights sleep." She shrugged, "It's been awhile since the couch-bed has been broken in."

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he realized exactly what she was referring to. During the time that she had been sick, as well as when he, himself, had been sick with the flu, the two had spent most of their time sleeping on the couch-bed, wrapped up in each others arms. Then, it had been awkward and neither of them had acknowledged their closeness, because of what it would eventually have brought to light. Nevertheless, they did end up having the conversation that they had been trying to avoid, and now there was nothing to stop them from allowing that small bit of closeness.

"I haven't had a full night's sleep in a long time..."

She smiled, "I thought you'd say that."

**XXXX**

Olivia sighed in content as she slid under the covers of the newly made couch bed, the coolness of the sheets pulling the heat from her body. A snap of thunder broke through the silent room, shaking the windows, and a flash of light cast a shadow on the man standing next to the bed. "You just gonna stand there all night, Stabler?"

He shook his head, then climbed into the bed as she had. Almost immediately she found herself in his arms, surprised at how soon they had moved towards each other. A smile present on her lips, she turned so that she was facing him, her head lying on his arm. "This is nice," she murmured sleepily, as she scooted as close as she could. "So you got your nice, quiet evening at home?"

"Not exactly what I had in mind," he replied with a hint of a smile in his voice, "but, this is good. I like this, too."

"I'm wondering what it was you had in mind, Elliot Stabler." she said, looking up at him.

His bright, blue eyes sparkled with humor, "Not that... but I'm sure I'd like that, as well."

"I'm sure you would," she replied, her own eyes dancing with laughter. "What am I going to do with you, Stabler?"

"You could kiss me?"

Well, as far as she was concerned, there was nothing wrong with that statement. With a grin she leaned in closer to him, capturing his lips with her own. Since he had suggested it, he was ready for her, and he brought his arms around her waist to pull her as close to him as possible. She smiled into the kiss, parting her lips slightly to deepen it. Elliot complied, his hand slipping under her shirt to rest on the soft skin located at the small of her back. She arched in surprise at the touch, a chill running down her spine before regaining her composure and returning the kiss.

A few minutes later they two finally broke the kiss completely, Olivia resting her head against his arm once more. "Did I mention that this is nice?"

"Yeah."

"_Really_ nice."

"I know."

"Elliot..."

"Yeah?"

"Where do we go from here?"

"We go to sleep..."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah..." he sighed, squeezing her briefly, "I'm not sure yet, Olivia."

"What if things don't work out."

"They will."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

"Like you knew about you and Kathy?"

He paused for a second, "We're gonna be just fine, Olivia."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"We're gonna be fine?"

"More than that, we're gonna be great."

"I hope so."

"I _know_ so."

"So..."

"Hey, you wanna have dinner with me tomorrow?"

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Like a date?"

"Like a date." he confirmed.

"_Really_?"

Elliot chuckled softly, "I would like nothing more than to take you out on a date, Olivia Benson."

"Well, I would like nothing more than to agree."

There was another pause. "_Really_?"


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Influenza **

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, no. The characters in this story are not mine... at all.**

**A/N: To AEROSnowDuckie: Wow... I've never been asked something like that before. But, ok. Sure. That's fine with me. Can't wait to see your thoughts. **

**XXXX**

When he woke up the next morning, it was already bright outside and he was alone in the bed. As he glanced around the room he noticed that it had been straightened up, no longer did candles litter the tables and her side of the bed had been made. Further observation showed a light under the door that led into the kitchen. Deciding to find out what she was up to, he climbed out of the bed and made his way across the living room quietly.

Pushing the door open gently he peered into the kitchen. She was at the stove, cooking it seemed. A soft smile spread across his face and he stepped further into the room, "Good morning."

She turned around at the sound of his voice, took in the grin on his face, and rolled her eyes. "Sit down," she ordered, turning back to the stove. "Breakfast is almost ready."

Elliot complied and sat down at the small table in the corner of the kitchen, "What did you make?" he questioned.

"Pancakes and scrambled eggs," she informed him, her back still turned. "There is some orange juice in the fridge, if you want some."

He wasn't very thirsty so he remained in his seat, "I didn't know that you could cook."

"I can't," she said, turning to him with a smile, "not really. Pancakes and scrambled eggs is my breakfast special. For lunch, I make a fairly good grilled ham and cheese, or chef's salad. When it comes to dinner... I can make a few things, but mostly I'll just order out or have some kind of sandwich. I never really have the time or occasion for a fancy meal." She shrugged and turned back around.

"Oh..."

"So," she questioned, turning off the stove and piling off of the eggs she had been cooking onto a paper plate. "Where are we going to go tonight?"

Elliot frowned, he hadn't really thought of a place to go. When he had asked her out the night before it had been on a whim, no thoughts necessary and all that. "Um... where do you want to go?" You could never go wrong with asking where somebody else wanted to go– unless of course, they said the ever illusive _'It doesn't matter to me.'_

"I don't know," she said with a shrug, "it doesn't really matter to me..."

A smile spread across his face, of course she would say that. "Well... what would you say your favorite kind of food is."

"You don't want to know."

"Yes I do, I asked, didn't I?"

Her eyes darted around the room, "...Chinese..."

Ah. There in lied the problem. Chinese was good for take-out, but it was definitely something he wasn't in the mood for when going out on an official first-date. "Ok... so what is your second favorite food?"

"Well, how about we skip that one, too? I doubt that you want to go to the little mom and pop restaurant down the street for burgers and fries. So, what about Italian?" She grabbed a pancake from the small stack she had made, then got some eggs to go with it, before drenching both with maple syrup. Elliot watched her amused, wondering how many of her mannerisms and idiosyncracies he'd be picking up in only the next couple of days.

"Italian sounds wonderful," he told her, getting up to make his own plate. As she passed him to the table he reached out and snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her close and being careful not to jostle the plate in her right hand.

"What are you doing?" she asked with a surprised yelp, her eyes growing wide and dancing with confusion.

"God, you're beautiful," he whispered thickly before capturing her lips with his own. She protested for a few seconds before melting into the embrace and reaching slightly behind her to drop her plate on the table and free her hands. With both free she brought them around his neck and pulled him closer to her, sighing happily into the kiss. She wasn't sure what had provoked it, but she certainly wasn't going to stop him if he got the desire to kiss her.

When he finally pulled back she smiled widely, "What was that for?"

"I hadn't kissed you all day..."

"It's 10:08 in the morning."

"That's over 10 hours..." he informed her, as if she couldn't have put two and two together on her own. "Ten hours is a _long _time."

"You were asleep for over 9 of those hours," she reminded him, a smile playing on her lips.

"Yeah, but I was dreaming of kissing you... it wasn't as good as the real thing."

She leaned in and kissed him briefly, "I'll bet."

"So," he said, letting her out of his arms so she could sit down and he could get something to eat. "How about Giovanni's?"

"Ok," she agreed. "We'll probably have to make reservations though, it might be packed."

"It's a Monday."

"And we live in one of the biggest, if not, the biggest, tourist trap on the East Coast... maybe even in the whole US. I'm sure it will be busy."

That was true. Every resturaunt, whether it was Giovanni's or Burger King was always packed in Manhattan, even if it was in the dead of winter and freezing cold outside. Possibly even snowing. "I'll call after I take a shower."

She nodded, it didn't really matter to her when he called, just that he did. This was going to be their first date and she wanted everything to be perfect, if there even was such a thing as perfection. Oh well, she could settle for nearly perfect, if need be. "How are the kids doing?"

"They're good, Kathleen wants to make you dinner again."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and Lizzie was asking for help to figure out some kind of science fair project the other night, when out of the blue, Kathleen comments that you loved science when you were in High School. Funny, I didn't even know that. I wonder how she did... Anyway, I think Lizzie is planning on asking you for help with it. Since I'm about as useless as they come with the subject."

Olivia smiled, nodding her head, "I'd love to help her– and Kathleen asked me one night. Is there something wrong with us talking?"

"No," Elliot assured her. "The complete opposite. I'd love you guys to be able to get closer to each other. I want them to know that just because I'm going to be in a relationship doesn't mean I won't have time for them anymore."

"Do they know?" Olivia questioned. How much had he told them? She hadn't even been sure of their status until the night before.

"Just that I won't be moping around and mourning the loss of my marriage. I think that Kathleen suspects something more though. The twins don't, as far as I know, and Maureen paretically told me that you and I should be a couple." He smiled lightly, "I have a feeling all four of them would be open to the idea."

"Really?"

He nodded, "Really."

A smile spread across her face and she took a bite of her pancakes. So his kids didn't blame her for their parents failed marriage and they would actually like the idea of her dating their father? That was odd and comforting at the same time. Maybe Elliot was right, maybe they were going to be just fine.

**XXXX**

Olivia shivered as another gust of chilly air brushed against her exposed skin. After being forced to park a block away from the restaurant they had, in turn, been forced to walk that block in the fifteen degree weather. She had brought a jacket to cover her bare arms, but from her knees down was uncovered and very cold. Elliot picked up on her discomfort and they began walking quicker to the restaurant. Once inside she slipped off her jacket, revealing her thick strapped black dress with a curved neckline. They let the front desk know that Elliot Stabler was here for his reservations and a minute or so later they were being seated.

"...So..." Elliot said, after the waitress had brought them their drinks. "This is nice."

She smiled in reply, "Yeah. It's definitely different."

"In a good way though, right?"

"In a good way," she assure him with a soft chuckle. "In a very good way."

Their waitress came back and took their orders, Elliot getting Shrimp Scampi and Olivia getting Chicken Alfredo. After that the woman left and they were once again left alone to talk. "How are we going to... you know, tell everybody at work?"

"I didn't know we were planning on doing so," Elliot replied with a shrug. "But, I guess the best thing is always honesty."

"What if Cragen splits us up?"

He shook his head, "Cragen knows how great we are together– he also knows that if he split us up we wouldn't be nearly as good as we are now." Giving her a reassuring smile he continued, "The last thing that you have to worry about is us not being partners, I promise."

She nodded, her unease slipping away, "They all think this has been going on for years, you know?"

Eliot sighed, "Yeah, I know. But they don't matter."

A smile tugged at the corners of her lips and she reached across the table, taking his hand into hers and giving it a brief squeeze. "So... what is this between us? Is it serious? You know, title worthy?" She tilted her head to one side and continued, "Do I call you my boyfriend now? Or... are we just experimenting to see where things lead?"

"I'd like to think of you as my girlfriend– but if you need some extra time before we get into that kind of relationship, I'm fine with it."

Olivia shook her head, "If you want to call me your girlfriend, I have nothing wrong with that."

A few minutes later their food was brought to t he table and the two began their dinner. After half an hour of talking about the job (or at least the less gruesome part) and his kids, they left the restaurant, headed back to her place. The drive home was relatively quiet, and when he reached her apartment complex he pulled into a open space and turned off the car.

"So..."

"That was nice."

He grinned, "Yeah... I think that we've already established that."

She looked up at her apartment, "...Do you want to come up? Have a cup of coffee or something?"

"I don't think I should," he told her with a brief smile. "I want to take things slow..."

"I wasn't suggesting that we–"

"I know," he said, cutting her sentence short. "I just don't really trust myself– alone with you like that..."

"We've been alone together before," she reminded him.

"Yeah, and it was really hard for me to contain myself... you remember."

Olivia's mind traveled back to months before, when the two of them had been sick with the flu and taking care of each other the best they could. His kiss alone had been enough to get her to throw away all of her rules and give in to temptation and she could only imagine what more could do now that most of those previous rules no longer applied. "Maybe you're right..." she sighed, looking back up at her apartment. "I should probably get inside before it starts to snow."

"Yeah," he said with a sigh of his own. "But first..." suddenly his hand grabbed her arm gently and he tugged at it, turning her around enough so that he could catch her lips with his. She moaned into the embrace, everything that had happened while they were sick crashing down and bouncing around her in mind. Those were not the thoughts to be having while she was kissing him, especially if they wanted to take things slowly. He was going to learn how to not catch her off guard like that, because his plan was quickly crumbling.

She pulled away, gasping for air and fighting the shiver, that had nothing to do with the weather, that was traveling down her spine. "...Wow..." she breathed, regaining her composure. "Don't do that again– at least not for awhile."

He grinned, understanding why she had said so. "Sorry."

"Oh... you really don't need to be."

"You should get inside..."

"Yeah."

But she didn't move out of the car.

"Am I inside yet?"

He shook his head with a grin, "Nope."

"Shit." she cursed, a grin of her own tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Goodnight, Olivia."

She leaned forward and very briefly brushed her lips against his, "'Night, El."

With that she did finally leave the car, heading for the door that led into her building without looking back. Both knew that wouldn't be the smartest thing to do, so Elliot wasn't concerned. When he was sure that she was inside he turned his key in the ignition and took off down the road, headed for his apartment and a very cold shower.

**XXXX**

**A/N: You guys are lucky this chapter is out right now, because it was a butt to write and I was almost ready to quit for the night and just finish it tomorrow. But, it is 11:16 PM and I am finally done with this chapter. Ugh. I hate it when I get writers block! Anyway, let me know what you think.  
Woot! I broke 200 reviews for this story (and at only 14 chapters!) You guys who have reviewed are awesome, thank you so much:) :)  
**


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Influenza**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Disclaimer: Not my show, not my characters. In all likelihood, they never will be. I do not make any profit from this fiction, unless you want to factor in all the awesome reviews that I get. Other than those, I don't get anything from this except amusement. I only wish I got paid for this. **

**XXXX**

When she arrived at work the next morning his desk was empty, but she wasn't worried about why he wasn't there. It was still early, and he had at least half an hour before he was expected to clock in. She had merely come early because there was nothing else for her to do, which was something she did often. Then again, he had begun to do the very same, now that he was divorced and living alone-- for the most part.

Which reminded her that it was Tuesday, and that Elliot had the kids every Tuesday and Thursday, along with every other weekend. Was the dinner he had previously mentioned going to be that night? She made a mental note to ask him about that topic and began on a new stack of paperwork, getting as much of it done as she could before her court date in three and a half hours.

Glancing to her left she briefly wondered where Fin and Munch were. Both of them were most always at work before she arrived, and on few occasions one was there while the other wasn't. However, since Munch had no car and Fin lived only a few minutes away from the man, the older was normally forced to leave as early as his partner did, unless he wasn't feeling greedy and hailed a cab. This morning, though, neither was there.

Her confusion was short-lived, cut off when Munch strolled into the station house, a trey of coffee's in his hands, followed by Fin, who had a grease-stained bag. "What do you have in that thing?" Olivia wanted to know, a disgusted look passing over her face briefly. All of that would clog his arteries one day... if it hadn't already.

"Donuts," the man stated simply. "Not Krispy Kreme, but you can't always have luxury."

She snorted, slightly amused by the predictability of the whole situation. Cops, donuts, and Starbucks. Wasn't this just a bad joke waiting to happen?

"Do you want one?" he questioned, sitting at his desk and reaching across for a cup of coffee. "We got plenty."

"No thank you," she declined, raising her right hand in the air slightly, as a gesture of her feelings. "I try to stay away from fried dough as much as possible... I already ate, anyway."

"Let me guess," the man replied, "cereal?"

Olivia shook her head with a slight grin, "Toast."

"Oh," the man chastised, "that's a great breakfast."

She crooked an eyebrow at him, "And donuts is just a much_ better _choice?"

"Hell yes." Fin stated with a grin. "But if you don't want any... that means more for me."

"More what?" Elliot announced, coming up behind Fin and trying to peak into the bag. The man took hold of the small sack and moved it from Elliot's reach, turning around to look at him.

"More of _my_ breakfast. You can't have any."

"You asked me if I wanted some," Olivia reminded him, smiling at the cute frown that had manifested on Elliot's face. He didn't even know what was in the bag yet, although she knew he had a unhealthy love for donuts as well. Men...

"Yeah," Fin replied, stretching out the word, "but you're _female_."

"So what?" she questioned. "You offer donuts to me in hopes that my hips will expand or something? I'm not going anywhere near the things."

"They're donuts?" Elliot questioned, practically salivating. "Come on Fin, I only had _toast_ for breakfast," he spit out the word, as if it were the worst food on the planet. "At least let me have one..."

Olivia snorted again, amused once more. Fin and Munch both shot glances at her, smiles on their faces. "What?" she asked, "I never said it was anything wonderful."

"But it's better than donuts?"

"Hell yes," she said, repeating Fin's earlier words. Elliot just looked around, not aware of the joke and what exactly was going on. Cutting his losses, he figured he'd sneak a left-over when Fin had finished with the bag. It was a pretty good size, anyway, and the man surely wasn't planning on eating _all _of them.

"That coffee for us?" he questioned, looking at Munch, who still had the trey of coffee's in front of him. There were two left in the four-carrier and it was only natural to assume that they had gotten the extra for their friends.

He shrugged, "If you want some."

Like either one of them would ever turn down coffee... Starbucks, as a matter of fact. That was outlandish. While Olivia didn't follow the expectations with donuts, she certainly was a coffee fiend. It was hard to find a coffee she could say no to-- not that it was impossible though. She surely stayed away from anything Munch himself created, but that was no surprise, since just about everybody steered clear of Munch-made coffee.

"You two have a case to go to today, right?" Fin asked, stuffing half of a glazed-donut into his mouth. Elliot shot him a dirty look, but nodded no less.

"At eleven," he told him. "Rape-homicide from nearly a year ago. Paul Newman."

"What's Casey going for again?" Munch questioned, taking the opportunity to pull two donuts out of the bag while Fin was looking elsewhere. He motioned for Elliot to get one and began to eat the other. Elliot grinned and got out of his seat before the other man knew what was going on, and Olivia took the time to reply.

"First degree for both charges. He stalked the victim for months before he raped her and the murder was a separate incident." She twirled around once in her chair, not at all disappointed about being bored at work-- it meant, in fact, that there was no need for a sex police at the moment, and that could never be a bad thing, in context. "Our case is strong, he'll be a lifer."

"Not going for the needle?"

Olivia shrugged, "She is, but it's not likely that he'll get it, and even if he does, he'll die on death-row in about fifty years." She wasn't exactly thrilled with the system, but as long as it got the sadistic freak off of the streets, she didn't give a damn where he ended up, or how long he was there before he was either gotten rid of or died naturally. She would prefer the prior, but either way, he would still be in prison. "We'll win, there's no way the jury can deny the evidence."

"Hopefully," Munch stated, causing Olivia to frown. Not at his negativity, but at the possibility that he was bringing up. The system wasn't perfect, she knew that all to well, and there was still a chance that Newman would get off free. She sighed, taking a sip of her warm coffee, then headed back to her small stack of paperwork.

**XXXX**

Elliot looked at his watch and cursed slightly, it was already fifteen after ten. "We've got to get going, Liv."

"Yeah," she had just glanced at a clock, as well, and had already begun to rise. "You got your files?"

He nodded, grabbing a stack of files from his desk and then pulling his keys out of his pocket. "Call Casey, tell her that we're on our way to the court house."

Olivia followed him out of the station house and towards his car, pulling out her cell phone and dialing the ADA's own cell. The woman picked up on the second ring and Olivia filled her in, they were leaving work and should arrive in ten minutes or so. Casey seemed calm, then again, she normally always did, so Olivia wasn't surprised. After reminding her that they had just over half an hour to be there and waiting she hung up, presumably to get started on her last minute trial preparations.

The two then got into the car and Elliot took off in the general direction of the court house. They rode in relative silence for the first minute or so before Olivia started up a conversation, voicing her earlier thoughts about the planned dinner. "The dinner date you were telling me about yesterday," she said, looking over at him as he drove, "when is that going to be?"

"Why? Got other plans?"

She shrugged, "I don't know-- you tell me." Her smile was suggesting and he couldn't help but grin in response.

"I'm not sure, actually. They kids are coming over tonight, but I doubt they'll have time to cook. Kathleen has soccer and Elizabeth just started on the swim team, so she's got practice, too. Dickey doesn't have football until tomorrow, though, and I don't think any of them have things planned for Thursday..."

"Are they coming over then?"

"As far as I know they are," he replied. "So, we'll probably do it then, I guess."

With a nod she turned to face the road once more, watching the tourists on the streets as they passed. "Have you told them?"

He shook his head, laughing slightly, "Our first date was last night-- and I certainly wasn't going to call them after..." he trailed off. "I had to shower when I got home anyway."

Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she cursed herself for the reaction. "When do you plan on telling them, then?"

"I was thinking maybe we could on Thursday, if you come over for dinner, that is."

"...You want me to be there?" she questioned, a bit surprised by the implication.

"Of course," he replied, surprised that she was surprised.

"But, what if they don't like the idea?"

"Then they're going have to get over it," he said simply, shrugging. "There's no way that I am going to let you go."

She could feel her cheeks getting hotter, and she knew that they were no longer just slightly pink. "What about Kathy?"

"Kathy knows already..." he paused for a moment. "Well, she doesn't _know_ know, but we've already talked about the possibility of a relationship between you and I and she's not totally against it. Actually, her words were, _"If it had to be anybody, I'm glad it's her." _So, you don't have to worry about the ex." He glanced over at her, a slight smile on his face, "Is there anybody I might need to watch out for, though?"

Olivia shook her head, "I think Munch and Fin are starting to suspect something, though..."

Elliot shrugged his shoulders, coming to a stop at the red light in front of them. "If they knew they would probably tease us, to no end, but it wouldn't be a problem with them. The Captain might be another story though..."

"Relationships in the work place are frowned upon," she replied with a sigh.

"Yeah," he agreed. "But not all together forbidden. And, while he might not like the fact that we work together and are... involved, it would be strictly professional. In a more personal matter, I don't think he would have a problem with it."

She nodded, she hadn't really been worried about the Captain's reaction, rather his course of action. "Do you think he'll split us up?"

"We're wonderful partners, Liv-- he wouldn't be able to find another person to work so well with me, and vice versa. He knows that. And besides, we've had feelings for each other for a long time, and our work performance hasn't been effected whatsoever. At most, it's become better. Also, something that he knows. He wouldn't jeopardize our case rate because the higher ups frown upon fraternizing."

Feeling a bit relieved she nodded, having already thought as much, but needing the confirmation. "We have to tell him soon, anyway. Just so he doesn't find out from somebody else and we're not forced into confessing when he's pissed off..."

"Yeah," he sighed. "No telling how many Scarry's there are out there."

Olivia smiled lightly, reaching out and placing a hand over one of his. He let the same hand fall off the steering wheel and slid his palm across hers, intertwining their fingers as he drove. Her smile grew and she forced back a shiver wanting to break free. Noticing her inter conflict he looked over at her, grinning broadly. Seeing the look on his face she couldn't control it, and a chill passed down her spine, followed by a non-stoppable shiver. He smiled further and turned to the road, soft chuckles rising in his throat and filling the stale air in the car.

Olivia watched his Adam's apple bob as he laughed, fighting off the urge to shiver yet again. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and continued on down the road, the wonderful sound still coming from his throat.

Oh yeah... this was nice. This was _really_ nice.

**XXXX**

**A/N: Sorry about the wait, I'm having laptop troubles so I'm having to write on my sister's computer... luckily she's never home ;) Anyway, please let me know what you think about this chapter. I live for feedback!**


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Influenza**

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Disclaimer: The show, the characters; not mine. The plot, that belongs to me.**

**  
XXXX**

Luckily for them, the next day turned out to be a slow one, as well. Munch and Fin had been assigned to a new case, but they were still in the process of a court case, and it was occupying most of their time-- so much, in fact, that they couldn't be sent out on any calls. And while they waited until it was time to head to the court house, they caught up on their paperwork, and had a quiet conversation.

"Are we going to tell him today?" Olivia questioned as she reached for a file, her eyes cast down at her desk, as to not attract a passer-by's attention. She looked up at him briefly before beginning to write, not holding eye-contact for more than two seconds.

"I don't see any other option," he replied just as casually as she had. "The sooner, the better."

She nodded, still looking downward. "Well then... what are we doing sitting here?"

"Procrastinating?" he asked, as if he wasn't sure if it was the correct answer.

A smile graced her face and she brought her eyes up, meeting his. "That's not doing us any good, is it?"

He shook his head, "I guess not... You want to go in now, then?"

Glancing at her watch, she nodded. "Might as well... we have to be at the court in an hour and a half. This might take awhile." breathing out a nervous sigh, she set down her pen and pushed back her chair. "Let's go."

Doing the same, he headed with her towards the captains office. After knocking softly, the man called out, allowing them entrance, and the two shared a uncertain look before opening the door. Cragen looked up at them as they entered, an expecting look on his face. "What can I do for you, detectives?"

Olivia was the one to answer him, "Uh, we need to... talk about... something."

The captain motioned for them to take a seat and they did. Crossing one leg over the other, Olivia sat, nervous and worried, but at the same time feeling a huge load being lifted from her shoulders.

"What is this about?" Cragen questioned after a moment of silence. 

Elliot and Olivia exchanged looks; now or never. "Captain, Olivia and I, well... we kind of..."

"We're dating."

There was a blank look on the man's face for a second or two, before he spoke up. "Each other?"

"Yeah..." this was from Olivia. "We haven't been seeing each other for long. In fact, our first date was just the other day. But, we still thought that you should hear it from us before somebody--"

"You just got a divorce," Cragen stated towards Elliot. "Does Kathy know?"

He nodded, "Kathy knew before there was even anything between us. I've talked with her about it, and she's ok with it. But sir, we in no way intended for this to happen... It just kind of did."

"And this has been going on for...?"

"Like Olivia said, just a few days, officially. We discussed it a while back, though... we were just waiting for my divorce to be final."

"You two know that this is frowned upon, right?" he questioned for the sake of conversation. "It's going to make people look at you differently."

"Let them," Olivia declared. "We don't care what anybody else thinks. We just wanted you to know... to hear it from us, before somebody else told you."

The man sighed, "I can't say that I approve of this a hundred percent... but I don't think that it will affect your work in anyway, so I'm not obligated to do anything about it. On a more personal note; good luck."

Olivia wasn't completely sure she liked that last statement. _Good luck?_ Why would they need luck? Still, she smiled lightly, "Thank you, Captain."

"Now, if there's nothing else... you two should get back to work."

After exchanging confused looks they two nodded and left the office, pausing briefly outside the door to talk. "That was... easy."

"Yeah," Elliot agreed. "_Almost_ too easy."

"He's not mad?"

"Didn't seem that way..."

"Hmm."

"Yeah, I know... it's strange."

"You think Munch and Fin got to him already?" she questioned, heading back towards her desk. "You know, they've been hinting at you and me for the longest time about 'us'. Maybe they got him thinking the same thing and he figured it would happen sooner or later."

"Well, most of the people here think you and I were having an affair, and that's why Kathy and I divorced, so that wouldn't surprise me much."

She shrugged, sitting down at her desk and picking her pen back up. "Like I said, I don't care what anybody else thinks."

Elliot nodded, "Now all we have to do is tell Munch and Fin."

She sighed, "Not to mention your kids."

**XXXX**

Olivia stood in front of the door, smiling at the conversations that she could hear through the thin wood, and trying to gain enough courage to knock. She had been there for at least five minutes, and couldn't believe how incredibly silly and childish she was being. There was no reason to be nervous. She knew that his kids liked her. But, would they like the fact of her and their father?

A squeal of surprise and then the sounds of running suddenly filled the air, and Olivia knew immediately that Dickey had done something to his twin sister and she was seeking revenge. Figuring that if she stood out there any longer one of his neighbors would find her staring at the door, and that would be a bad thing, she brought a slightly shaking hand up to the wood and knocked lightly.

"I'll get it!" Kathleen's voice called out, moments before the door opened to reveal her face. "Olivia, hey. You're late."

"Yeah... I got stuck in traffic," she lied. "Sorry." Oh, by the way. I'm dating your father.

"No biggie, we're not done with dinner yet. Come on in, I think dad's around here somewhere trying to save Dickey from Liz."

With a smile she entered the apartment, looking around as she shed her coat. She had only been in his place once before, the last time she had come for dinner, and it hadn't changed much. It was a bit cleaner the last time, but she figured the kids were still getting used to moving from house to house so frequently. "How's school going?"

"Great," Kathleen replied, taking her coat and laying it over the back of a chair. "I can't wait for Christmas break though."

"When's that again?"

"Well, we have to go to school all next week. But, the two weeks following that we have off. We go back to school the third of January."

She nodded, "So how are you and your parents working it out?"

"Well... Christmas is on a Saturday this year, and mom wants us to spend it with her. So, I guess what we're going to do is come here that Thursday and stay until Friday night, so we can spend Christmas eve with him. Then, we have the entire next week off of school... but we're not sure who we're spending New Years with, because dad might have to work." She frowned, and headed off for the kitchen, motioning for Olivia to follow her. "It's going to be strange, you know? It's our first Christmas apart, and Thanksgiving was _horrible_. I can only imagine what my uncles will say about dad."

"You're mom's the one who asked for the divorce, though..."

"They don't care about that, Liv," the girl replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "They're her big brothers and they're going to be protective of her no matter what the situation."

"Maybe I would understand better if I hadn't been an only child," Olivia replied casually, sitting down at the small informal table in the kitchen.

Kathleen nodded and turned towards the spaghetti that she was making, "You didn't have a good childhood did you? I asked dad about it once, and all he said was that the world hadn't been kind to you."

Olivia smiled faintly, "It could have been worse. At most, I was lonely."

"But, your mother..."

"Was always drunk, yeah. After a while I learned to deal with it. It wasn't _so_ bad."

The teen gave her a look, as if to say she didn't believe a word coming out of her mouth, but didn't press the issue. "Spaghetti is fine with you, right? Dad said you liked Italian."

"Italian is wonderful," she assured her with a nod. "Where is your father, anyway?"

Just as the words left her mouth, the door to the kitchen opened and Elliot walked through the door, ushering Elizabeth in front of him. He smiled at Olivia before turning to his middle child, "Put her to work in here before she kills him." he begged, practically out of breath.

"What did he do?" Olivia asked curiously.

Elizabeth frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, doing her best at looking furious. "Flushed all of my make-up down the toilet."

As she was getting ready to ask why on earth the girl wore make up when she was so young, she realized that the twins were thirteen already. Suddenly feeling old she kept the question to herself and looked up at Elliot, "Can I take to you in the living room?"

Kathleen and Elizabeth shared a questioning look before the older of the two ordered her younger sister to get the tea ready.

"Sure..." Elliot replied, heading back out the door, Olivia right behind him.

"You haven't told them yet?" she asked, just to be sure.

Elliot shook his head, "I was waiting for you to get here."

"Chicken," she teased, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "When are we going to tell them?"

He shrugged, "After dinner, I guess..."

"No use ruining the meal?"

"Olivia," he chastised, "they're not going to be upset by this."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because, they're old enough to understand." he replied, completely sure of his children's maturity. "Don't worry about it, please?"

"Worry about what?" Dickey questioned, walking out of his bedroom, after having put on a clean shirt. He stopped in the middle of the living room to observe his father and his father's partner, curiousness dancing in his eyes. Nothing about the situation was suspicious to him, however, because the two were standing at least three feet apart, possibly more, and they looked like they were having a discussion of sorts. They did that often, mostly about a case they were working, and that fascinated Dickey. He was going to be a cop just like his father one day. Although, he wouldn't work SVU, his goal was Narcotics. Possibly Homicide.

"It's nothing," his father assured him, although he continued looking at Olivia. "Go help your sisters-- and stay away from Lizzie. Alright?"

"Yes sir," the young boy replied, smirking just a bit. His dad had to admit, flushing her makeup was _so_ cool.

After Dickey had gone back into the kitchen Olivia gave Elliot a look, "Oh yeah... you're kids are just so grown up."

"Dickey's a boy, he's supposed to be a bit immature at times. But, this is not one of those times. Ok?"

"Whatever you say," Olivia sighed, walking across the room to sit on the couch. "We'll find out in about an hour."

**XXXX**

The girls had finished dinner not long after that, and then the five of them had sat around Elliot's formal dining table and ate. While they were eating, they talked about the events of the past few days that there father didn't know about, and the little that Elliot and Olivia could tell about the court case they were still working. They had just gotten through the last day of the prosecution's case and were currently waiting for the defense to take over, and that would be a lot shorter than the prosecution's had been-- seeing as the defense only had three witnesses to match the state's 11.

After the adults had finished talking about their case, Dickey took the opportunity to annoy his sister further, "Lizzie has a boyfriend." he declared in a sing-song tone, smiling deviously at his twin, older than him by a mere two minutes.

The girl dropped her fork on her plate and stared at him, open mouthed. "I am going to _kill_ you," she threatened finally, standing up from her chair and pushing it back.

"Sit down," Elliot ordered, and Elizabeth immediately obeyed. "Who is this boy?"

She sighed and folded her arms across her chest, once more looking furious. "His name is James."

"James what?"

"Washington."

"How old is this James Washington?"

Her eyes shifted and she shrugged her shoulders, "Fourteen..."

"He turns fifteen in two months," Dickey explained.

"Oh my god!" the other twin practically screamed. "You are _so_ dead!"

"Nobody is going to die," Elliot informed her. "Does your mother know about this boy."

Liz looked at her father, her right eyebrow cocked, "Yes."

"And you weren't going to tell me?"

"No."

"How do you even know this boy?" he questioned of his daugther. "You're only in Middle School, he's fourteen, that's high school age."

"He went to school with me last year..." she explained. "And he goes to church with us."

Elliot sighed, "...You're off the hook for now. But I will meet this boy before you go out with him again."

Dickey looked at his father, stunned. "What?"

"I said _for now_," Elliot replied. "And that's only because I have more important things to talk about."

"_More_ important?" Elizabeth questioned. What could be more important than her life? Especially to her father? Shouldn't he be yelling at her for dating a boy at her age?

"Yes, Lizzie," Dickey answered for his father. "You'll find that the universe _doesn't_ actually revolve around you."

"Don't even say it," Elliot ordered before Liz could reply.

Kathleen and Olivia, who had remained silent through the whole ordeal, sat in a staring match with each other. The younger girl's face held what Olivia could only describe as a knowing smile, and her arms were crossed over her chest in a less threatening manner than her younger sisters. Her right eyebrow cocked, and her head tilting towards the side slightly, as if she was thinking of something important.

She _knew_. How did she know?

"Well," Elliot said with a sigh, after all was quiet for a few seconds. "Kids..." might as well just come right out and say it, "Olivia and I are dating."


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Influenza **

**  
Chapter Eighteen**

**Disclaimer: Not my show, not my characters. Maybe next time, though...**

**  
XXXX**

"_Well," Elliot said with a sigh, after all was quiet for a few seconds. "Kids..." might as well just come right out and say it, "Olivia and I are dating." _

**XXXX**

There was a complete, uncomfortable silence hovering over the table and its those sitting at it after he dropped the bomb. Kathleen was smiling smugly, as if to say "I knew it the whole time", Elizabeth was staring at her father with her jaw dropped slightly, and Dickey's eyes were darting from his father to Olivia to his sisters, wondering when and how this and happened and why he hadn't noticed some sort of change. Olivia simply sat in the silence and waited for the other shoe to drop.

And, then, it did exactly that. Elizabeth, coming out of her stupor, pushed her chair back forcefully and ran for the bedroom that she and her sister shared, slamming the door behind her with such an intensity that the others could hear the pictures on the walls around it rattle. Olivia winced, having expected such a reaction from at least one of them, but not feeling any better from the knowledge. Then, Dickey, instantly switching from his previous "annoying brother" mode to "protector" mode, pushed back his chair with less haste than his twin, ready to chase after her. His father stopped him before he could get up from the table, however. "Stay in your seat Dickey," he told his only son. "I'll talk to her later."

"But dad," he began in protest, before Elliot cut him off.

"Don't worry about it, Dickey. Let her sulk for a few minutes, it won't hurt her any." He looked over at Olivia with a sympathetic smile and sighed, "She still thinks that her mother and I can get back together." Then looking back at Dickey, he continued. "Are you mad at me, too?"

"How long has this been going on?" he questioned. As long as his father hadn't been cheating on his mother, there really wasn't a thing he could do about any of it. Except whine and complain and throw a fit like his sister was doing, and his father didn't deserve that. If he _hadn't_ been cheating, that was.

"Not even a week," Elliot explained to his son. "Our first date was this last Monday."

The younger male shrugged his shoulders, "Then no."

Elliot turned to his middle child, "Kathleen?" he questioned in a hopeful voice.

"I'm not mad," she assured him with a shake of her head. "Does mom know?"

"Your mother knew before anything ever happened."

Kathleen nodded, "You'd better go talk to Liz now..."

Dickey sighed, he knew his sister better than anyone, and he knew that the last person she would want to talk with at the moment was her father. "Let me go, dad," he asked. "At least for a few minutes. I can calm her down."

"Finish your dinner Dickey," Elliot said. "I can handle your sister." She was only his thirteen year old daughter, after all. How hard could it be?

**XXXX**

Elliot got up from the table a few moments after that, leaving Olivia very alone with his two other children. She fidgeted nervously in her seat, pretending to focus on her dinner and trying to ignore the amused stares she was receiving. The two caught on to what she was doing and decided to change her sudden shy attitude towards them.

"So," Dickey said, starting up a conversation, "you and my father, huh?"

Olivia smiled briefly, "...Yeah..."

"You kiss and stuff?"

"Dickey," Kathleen warned. But Olivia only smiled.

"We kiss." Olivia clarified. "We only started dating the other day..."

"Yeah," Dickey replied. "Dad said that."

"It's the truth."

"What does mom think about it? Do you know?" Kathleen was leaning over the table, anxious to hear how her mother was dealing with the fact that her father was dating another woman. The same woman that Kathy had confessed to Maureen and Kathleen that she was afraid would end up stealing their father's heart, even if it was unintentional. It looked like her mother had been dead on.

"From what your father told me, she's not completely thrilled about the idea, but she doesn't hate him for it, either. Or me for that matter."

"Liz is really mad..." Dickey said with a sigh. "The other night she was trying to figure out how to get mom and dad back together."

"Your parents have already come to the conclusion that they just don't love each other enough to stay married anymore... It's nothing they did in specific and there isn't anything that they can do to change it."

"Not to mention," Kathleen added, "the fact that he loves you now."

Olivia couldn't hide her blush, "I wouldn't go _that_ far..."

Kathleen gave her a look that plainly said she begged to differ, but she didn't press the issue further. "What do you think he's saying to her in there?" she questioned, nodding her head towards the hall that led to the bedroom Liz had run off to.

"I have no clue," Olivia confessed, looking a bit worried. "I hope it works though. I would hate for her to be mad at her father because of me."

"It wouldn't be your fault, you know, if she did," Dickey assured her. "She's old enough to understand the concept of divorce and both mom and dad have explained things to her countless times. She just won't accept it."

"For thirteen years she's come home to this... perfect life, sort of perfect, at least. She had parents who loved each other, despite their hectic work schedules, and all the things they went through while working. It's hard to accept what you've known all your life as a lie. That's probably how she feels right now. She just doesn't want to believe that what she thought was true was just a nicely put together facade. And, even though for a long time it wasn't, and your parents truly still loved each other... it still didn't end up that way and she's refusing to see things the way they are now, and instead is living back in the days where your mother and father were happy. She just wants that security again."

Dickey and Kathleen stared at her for a moment, wide eyed. "Where in the world did that come from?" The bolder of the two, Dickey, questioned.

"I've been spending way too much time around Huang..."

"I'll bet," Kathleen muttered, with a smile. "You know what? I'm done eating. What about you two?"

Both nodded.

"We should get the dishes done Dickey, come on..."

"Kathleen--"

"Uh uh, let's go. Listen to your elders."

The boy looked at Olivia, as if to say, "you're older than her, overrule her," but Olivia just shook her head. "You should probably listen to your sister. She can tell all of the girls at your school your biggest secrets..."

His face dropped and he got out of the chair, muttering something about "women sticking together" and "estrogen bonds". Kathleen and Olivia shared a smile before the girl headed off to the kitchen. Before she entered she turned around, "Does Maureen know yet?"

"I don't think so..."

"Is dad going to call her?"

She shrugged, "That's my best guess."

"Well... you don't have to worry about her being upset about this. She idolizes you." Kathleen stated as a matter-of-factly. "She'll love it."

Olivia couldn't help but blush once more, "Really?"

Kathleen nodded, "Yeah. Really."

**XXXX**

"Liz?" Elliot called out, knocking lightly on the bedroom door, seconds before pushing it open. "Elizabeth...?"

"Go away!" the girl called out, her voice muffled by what Elliot could only guess was a pillow. When he was fully in the room he saw her sprawled out on her bed, stomach lying on the comforter, head face down in the pillow. Oh yeah. Classic sulk mode. Females... Teenage females. He still didn't understand them.

"Lizzie," he said, sitting on the edge of the bed, resting his hand on her back. "We need to talk about this."

"What's to talk about?" she asked, her face still hidden in the pillow. "You've already forgotten all about mom. I understand."

"That's not how it is, Liz." Elliot assured her. "I still love your mother-- in some ways, I always will. But, we both decided that our feelings for each other just aren't strong enough anymore. This thing that Olivia and I have... I don't think I ever even felt it during the entire time your mother and I were married. You only find somebody like her once in your lifetime... I'm not about to let her slip away just because I just got divorced. Towards the end, your mother and I weren't really married anymore."

"So you never loved mom like you love Olivia?" she questioned. "That's great. Really dad. I'm happy for you." Her tone was sarcastic and Elliot was getting frustrated at having to explain the way he felt to her.

"You're still young, Elizabeth. You don't know love yet. Not really. Yeah, maybe you tell this boy that you love him when you hang up or when you sign off of the computer-- and ok, maybe you do "love" him. Being "_in love_" is completely different than feeling love for somebody. I love Munch like a brother, a much older brother... but that doesn't mean I'm in love with him. You understand?"

"Yeah..." she sat up, "how does that have anything to do with this?"

"Liz... I haven't told this to anybody, so I'd appreciate it if you kept it to yourself for awhile. Don't even tell Dickey. Ok?"

"Ok."

"I'm _in love_ with Olivia. Looking back, I have been for awhile. But, I was married to your mother, so I made myself ignore the way I felt. Because I still _loved_ your mother. What I didn't realize at the time, was that I wasn't _in love_ with your mother anymore. You understand?"

She nodded.

"Ok. So, after knowing all of that, you can't be happy for me?"

"I don't know," she confessed. "I want to be... But, it feels like I'm betraying mom if I accept anything other than you and her together."

"Your mother is going to find somebody else. Her _Olivia_. She's not going to live out her life being a bitter, divorced woman. She'll date again and she'll fall in love. What are you going to do then?"

The girl sighed, "I don't know."

"You're old enough to understand this, Liz. I'm not going to continue explaining myself and my feelings to you, because you're being stubborn and don't want to accept the fact that your mother and I are through with."

She looked away, "Did you cheat?"

Elliot shook his head, "I would never disrespect your mother that way. I would never disrespect God that way."

"Catholics aren't supposed to get divorced..."

"Yeah, and nobody is supposed to lie... But we still do."

"You're really in love with her?" she questioned, looking back at him.

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips and he ran a hand over her hair, "Yeah baby. I am."

"There's no chance of you and mom getting back together? None at all?"

"No," he confirmed. "I wish I could tell you that I was sorry for it. But, your mother and I have already gone our separate ways. There's no going back."

"If you guys get married... will I have to call her mom?"

"Not unless you want to."

Elizabeth sighed and scooted over into her father's arms, holding on to him tightly. "I'm sorry that I was such a brat, dad. I wasn't thinking..."

"That's fine, honey. I understand."

"I bet she hates me now."

He shook his head, kissing the top of her hair, "She would never hate you, Liz. She wants you to like her just as much as you want her to like you. Maybe even more."

His youngest daughter pulled out of his arms, "You're not upset with me about the boyfriend thing?"

"I'll talk to your mother and then get back to you on that one. In the meantime, I want to meet him."

Liz grimaced, "Fine. I guess I deserve that."

"Good... at least we agree." He grinned and stood up from the bed, holding out his hand to her. "Come on, let's go get some desert."

With a sigh, the young girl got off of the bed, taking her father's hand and looking up at him with curiosity. All her life she had just seen him as exactly that, her dad, the man who contributed to her birth (ignoring the way _how _he did so, of course) and who was married to her mother. Now, she was forced to see him as a person. Somebody with feelings and fears and hopes and that was _weird_. Who knew being a teen was so hard?

Giving her dad's hand a gentle squeeze the two left the bedroom and went into the living room, surprised to see that it was empty, along with the dining room. There was laughter coming from the kitchen, however, so the two went to investigate, and what they found truly shocked her thirteen year old mind.

The three others in the apartment were huddled around the kitchen sink, soaking wet and covered in soap. Next to them stood a large stack of dirty dishes. They looked at the two sheepishly, knowing they had been caught making a mess, before the two women spoke up, both pointing at her twin brother.

"Dickey started it." they claimed in unison, before settling into a fit of laughter. Dickey just frowned, not at all surprised that he was the scape goat, then grabbed a handful of bubbles and covered his older sisters face with it, before running past the two clean ones in the beginning of the kitchen, leaving Kathleen to chase after him.

Olivia stood by the sink, smiling faintly and holding her arms over her chest nervously. Elizabeth smiled at her, and the nervous look on the older females face washed away. Before Elliot and Liz knew it, Dickey ran back into the kitchen, and hid behind the same woman, who started laughing once more and did her best to keep the boy safe from his older sister when she ran back into the kitchen, shrieking her revenge.

Ok... so maybe this dad dating Olivia thing wasn't _so_ bad. But she would_ not_ call her mom when they got married.

**XXXX**

**A/N: Time to review :)**


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Influenza **

**Chapter Nineteen **

**Disclaimer: Nope. Not my show.**

**Authors Note: Oh, I really don't feel like writing right now, because I've got a cold or something, but I'm going to get this out anyway... Better now than later, I guess.**

**  
XXXX**

Later that night, after Olivia had already gone back home, Elliot, Dickey, and Lizzie curled up on the couch to watch a movie, Kathleen having locked herself in the room she and her sister shared to do her homework and chat on the phone. Elizabeth snuggled up to her father, resting her head on his shoulder and Dickey sat on the love seat, in full independence mode. He wasn't a little boy anymore, so any affection shared between he and his father was not allowed.

Not much was said during the movie, save for the usual chatter about what was going on with the main character. The three simply sat in the darkened room, enjoying the company of each other, which was something that none of them had been able to do much lately. When the movie was nearly over, Kathleen emerged from the bedroom and sat down next to her sister, but leaned against the arm of the couch, rather than the younger girl. She had seen the movie already, so she knew what was going on, and didn't need things to be explained to her. And, once again, all was quiet.

As the credits began to roll, his middle child spoke, "When were you planning on telling Maureen about you and Olivia?" she questioned, adverting her eyes from her fathers, in a very guilty-like way.

"...Why?" Elliot asked, wondering what on earth his daughter had been up to and how much she could have done in just an hour and a half.

"Well..." Kathleen started, "she kind of called me."

Elliot's eyebrows arched, "Kind of?"

"Ok, I called her." the seventeen year old confessed.

"And?"

"Well, she asked how you were doing..."

"Oh?" Elliot said, "What did you tell her?"

Kathleen licked her lips, then began to chew on her bottom one. A sign that told Elliot she was nervous, "ThatyouandOliviaaredating." she said quickly, her words coming out as one jumbled word. Even though Elliot had caught on to what it was she had told her sister, he looked at his daughter in a way that clearly told her to say her last statement once again, albeit slower.

The young woman sighed, "I told her that you are dating Olivia."

"What did she say?" Elliot wanted to know, as he fiddled with the braids of his youngest daughters hair. In the morning Elizabeth would brush her hair out and it would be slightly curly, which was something she often did. Seeing her hair as it was reminded Elliot of when she was younger and wore braids just for the sake of wearing braids, not as an easy way to achieve a higher hair style.

"She said 'I told you so'."

"'I told you so'?" Elliot questioned. "She told you that Olivia and I would end up dating?"

"When you and mom announced your divorce," Dickey replied for his sister, speaking for the first time in the conversation. "She said it to us all. We didn't listen to her."

"Hmm," Elliot said, shrugging slightly. "So, she's alright with the idea?"

Kathleen nodded, "Yeah. More than so. She loves it."

"That's good," he hugged his youngest daughter close to him, since she was the only one who had been sore about his new relationship, and Elizabeth allowed him to do so, still a bit uncomfortable with the fact that her father was dating somebody. And not just some random Jane off of the streets, somebody she knew. Somebody she had known for six years, a woman who had watched her grow up. Somebody she admired greatly. It was awkward. But... her father seemed happy because of it. She couldn't really be annoyed with her father's happiness, could she?

"Well," he announced, "it's already after 10 o'clock. I'm sure you guys won't actually go to sleep, but I want your bottoms in bed by 10:30."

"Dad..." Dickey whined, "it's still_ early._" The look on his father's face was incredulous and Dickey knew his argument wasn't going to get him anywhere, and it wasn't like he had to really go to sleep. "Alright... but that means you have to go to bed, too... I need the couch-bed."

"I have to wake up early for work," Elliot reminded his only son. "I was already planning on going to sleep."

Dickey scowled; his other plan had backfired. The downside of having a cop for a father, he assumed, as he got out of the over-sized chair he had been sitting in. His sisters and dad got off of the sofa and Dickey and Elliot pulled the cushions off and got the bed out from the couch, then retreved the sheets and pillows and blankets for it, and the boy proceeded in making his bed while his father and sisters went off to their rooms.

The perk of sleeping in the living room was the access to the TV. When Dickey got himself situated in the bed, he flipped on the television and laid back on his pillows. Flipping through the stations, he searched for a fairly decent program, and ended up leaving it on the news, while he waited for Jay Leno to come on.

The reporter was talking about some high-profile child abuse case that the Manhattan SVU had taken to court, and his interest perked slightly. The show suddenly switched to a clip of the courthouse, whereupon a redheaded ADA and a darker skinned attorney were walking out of the building. Dickey recognized the woman as Casey, whom he had met only twice, and the attorney was somebody unfamiliar to him. Then again, from the stories his father had told him, he wasn't sure he would like knowing the defense attorney, anyway. A few seconds after the lawyers came out of the building, a cluster of other people emerged, two of which he identified immediately. His father and Olivia were walking out of the courthouse, amongst other spectators of the case, but something was different about them. They were smiling.

Perhaps it was the fact that they had just won their case, and sent a negligent, druggie mother to jail for not keeping her five year old out of her crack and leaving the child to overdose and nearly die. Dickey knew those smiles though, and they were always bittersweet. To win a case was a great thing, of course, but that still didn't mean things were perfect. The fact of the matter would always be that somebody had been hurt, and that couldn't be changed, no matter how many cases they win and how long the perps went to Rikers for. The smiles that the two wore were genuine and after a few seconds of watching, Dickey noticed that Olivia was actually laughing quietly. Had his father said something funny to make her laugh?

While Casey Novak spoke to the TV reporter, his father and his fathers partner walked down the steps of the court house, and stood off to the side, waiting for her, but in plain view of the camera. Elliot turned his back away from the device, but part of Olivia's face was still visible, and Dickey could still make out the lines of a smile. Casey glanced over her shoulder, excused herself from the woman who was asking questions, leaving the eager defense attorney to jump in and rant about appeals. For a few seconds, the other three were still in view, and Dickey, along with whoever else was watching, could see the fair skinned lady walk over to the two and strike up a conversation. As they talked, they walked off, and away from the camera.

Dickey thought about what he had witnessed, as he turned off the TV and curled up under his blankets. His father had dropped the bomb on him that day, and he had been completely taken by the shocking news, but was the idea so outlandish? There had been many opportunities before that could have allowed him to see the truth, one of them only a few hours before, but he had ignored them. Now, though, he was beginning to recall earlier things that would have lead him to the discovery that his father had filled him on earlier. Strange smiles that had suddenly appeared on his fathers face, slight humming every now and then, and not to mention the fact that he would shy off every time one of the girls asked about Olivia, almost as if he was afraid to give something away to them.

Maybe his father was telling the truth, and he and Olivia had only just started dating. But there was no way that whatever feelings they had shared had accumulated over night, they must have felt whatever way for months, possibly even years. Had his father loved another woman while he was still married to his mother? He must have been, the two of them had only been officially divorced for a few weeks. Had his mother known? Did she notice it before his father, himself, did? Was that why she wanted the divorce?

Dickey pushed the thoughts from his mind, deciding that none of it really mattered anymore. The past was just that, the past. Nothing could be changed about it, and all that was left was the accept the present and hope for the future. So, the teenage boy said his prayers and closed his eyes, thoughts of his father's future dancing through his mind, keeping him from his slumber.

What happened if things between his father and Olivia continued at the pace they were going? Would the two eventually get married?

And, if it did happen, would he be ok with it?

**XXXX **

Dickey voiced his musings to his twin sister the next morning, as they brushed their teeth in the guest bathroom. Elizabeth confessed that she, too, had similar thoughts and had come to the conclusion that it was something that would most likely happen, possible sometime soon.

"What if it does?" Dickey asked, spitting out the foam from his mouth and gurgling water.

"We accept her as our step-mother. There aren't many options besides that. I like Olivia though, Dickey, and I would rather dad love her than any other woman. I don't want to have to live with a total stranger, you know? At least this is somebody that we like and somebody we know." She shrugged and did the same as her brother. "That doesn't mean we have to view her as our mother or anything."

Her brother had nodded in agreement, "You wouldn't call her mom?"

"No," Lizzie admitted. "That mostly happens when the children are younger, you know? Like five."

"You really think they're going to get married, then?"

"The truth?" Lizzie said, sitting down on the side of the tub and sighing. "I'm kind of hoping for it, you know? I really do like Olivia, she's somebody that I can talk with and not worry about her thinking of me as a silly teenager. I want dad to be happy but I don't want him to go out and date some stuffy woman who sees us as his children and nothing more than that."

"Well, we already know that Kathleen and Maureen would jump on the idea of Dad and Olivia getting married..."

"They know her better than we do," Elizabeth explained. "We were really young when we met her and so we haven't really had the chance to learn as much about her, or her about us. It only makes sense that they're more open to the idea, I guess."

"I wonder what mom thinks about this all..." Dickey mused, leaning against the closed door. "Dad said that she knows and accepts the idea, but I wonder what she _really_ thinks."

Lizzie shrugged, "I wouldn't just go up and ask her, Dickey, this is kind of a touchy subject."

"Yeah..." he agreed. "What if she has a boyfriend, too?"

His sister frowned, "Maybe."

"You wouldn't like the idea of her being involved with somebody?" Dickey questioned, his arms folded across his chest as he leaned on the door.

"Chances are," Liz explained to him, "if she is, we don't know a thing about the guy..."

"True," Dickey sighed. "There's really not much we can do about that, though."

"Kids!" their father called from the kitchen, cutting their conversation short. "Breakfast is ready."

Dickey was out of the bathroom in a shot, leaving his sister behind, smiling to herself, "I'll be out in a few minutes, Dad!" she called, standing in front of the mirror and pulling out her make-up bag. She put on very little make-up, deciding on only foundation and lip gloss, then went out to join her sister, brother, and father for the most important meal of the day. And, a pretty important conversation, along with it.

**XXXX**

**A/N: Eh, a kind of boring chapter... That's just how things came out. Let me know what you think.  
A bit of a cliffhanger, but... you know how it is. Sometimes they are unavoidable. Sorry.  
**


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Influenza**

**Chapter Twenty**

**  
Disclaimer: The show doesn't belong to me, neither do the characters, I make no cash profit off of my works.**

**XXXX**

He was almost late getting into work that day, but, then again, he was almost late every morning after the kids stayed at his apartment. Getting them off to school normally took up all of his time, and in most of the cases, something always went wrong. Somebody left their bag at home, or didn't remember to get lunch money, making him have to turn around and head back the way he came. He was only late on one occasion, when Kathleen's car had needed jumping, and still, he had only been five minutes late.

When he walked in through the door, she was sitting at her desk, her back facing the way he entered. By then, nearly everybody in the office knew of their relationship, since they had already informed Cragen and news traveled through the precinct quicker than the girl's bathroom at any American High School. Munch and Fin had already confronted them about it, questioning why they hadn't been previously informed, and the two had simply stated that they didn't think everyone at work needed to know of their private lives.

Now, there was no way that would ever happen. Once he stuck a foot through the door, whispering started. Not just from the women cops, in contrast. Most of them were males, wondering to themselves and their buddies how Stabler, who was just freshly divorced, managed to get what they had been trying for in how ever long they had been working at the precinct. Some claimed that it was because the two had been having an affair before, causing his wife to leave. The others, who still believed in faithfulness, said that the two had finally admitted the way they felt after it was apparent that his marriage was not going to last. The latter was correct, but those were few and far between, and most went for the more scandalous point of view.

Olivia hadn't even noticed he was in the room, let alone the station, until he sat a brown paper bag down in front of her. "What is this?" she questioned, looking at it incredulously. "It's not donuts, is it?"

He shook his head, "Elizabeth made them for Home Ec and had a few left over, so she told me to bring them to work for you and Dumb and Dumber over there," he nodded towards Munch and Fin, who were engaged in an intense discussion over some kind of Government Conspiracy. Actually, Fin was pretending to listen, bobbing his head up and down every now in then, to give the illusion that he was paying attention, while Munch ranted and theorized.

She peeked into the bag, and found three, fairly large, muffins. "What kind are they?" she questioned, hoping that he wouldn't say blueberry. She was allergic to blueberry, and these looked very good to her empty stomach.

"Chocolate," he informed her. "She brought all the blueberry's with her, since you can't have them."

"Can't have what?" Fin questioned, having been looking for an easy exit to the conversation his partner had started up. He had noticed the bag sitting on the table, and figuring it was food, decided it would be the perfect excuse to ignore the older man. Even Munch would agree that food was better than conspiracies.

"Blueberries," Elliot replied. "Liz made chocolate muffins, I brought one for each of you."

"Just one?" this was from Munch, who had left his theory about cafeteria food in the dust. This type of food was much more interesting.

Elliot nodded, "Just the one..."

Olivia shrugged and grabbed a muffin from the bag, one was fine with her. There was silence for a few minutes, while Fin and Munch argued over the bigger muffin in the background, and Olivia and Elliot sat in a staring match, neither knowing what had started it or why it was continuing.

"No offense to your daughter, Stabler," Fin called out, from his desk, "but these aren't poisoned, are they?"

"Why would they be poisoned?" Elliot questioned, not breaking the connection with Olivia as he did so.

"I don't know," the man admitted, "but your staring Olivia down like you're waiting for her to eat the damn thing and get it over with."

John looked over the rim of his glasses and smiled wryly, "I don't think that's why he's staring..."

Ignoring the comment, Elliot continued to look at the woman seated across from him, "Kathleen told Maureen last night on the phone," he informed her, rapping his pen against his desk quietly.

"Oh?" Olivia questioned. "What did Maureen have to say about it?"

"Well, apparently, _I told you so_. She's been rooting for us ever since she heard about the divorce."

A smile tugged at the corners of her lips, which she immediately covered. No reason to give everybody more reasons to talk. "I always liked her, you know?"

"Yeah," he said, "so have I."

"I should hope so," Olivia replied, finally breaking eye contact and looking down at her paperwork. "She is your daughter, after all. Liking them comes with the territory."

He made a face, "I guess so..."

Olivia smiled, knowing that he was just joking. He caught her doing so, and a grin spread across his face, causing her smile to grow, as well. She rolled her eyes at the cocky look on his face, and went back to her work, determined to not let him she the effect his smile could have on her.

"The twins had an interesting conversation with me this morning," he claimed, looking up from his paperwork, expecting for her to do the same. She did and he caught her eye.

"Oh really? What about?"

He looked around, sighed when he caught one of their co-workers glancing in their direction, seemingly listening to the conversation. "I'll tell you later... how about, dinner at 9?"

She looked around much as he had, only to see why he hadn't told her what Dickey and Elizabeth had talked with him about, "Sure..." she agreed, "that's fine with me."

Just as he was about to reply, Cragen came out of his office and nodded in their direction, "Stabler, Benson, my office."

The two sighed simultaneously, understanding that the look on his face had meant a case, not a chewing out. They got up from their chairs, and headed towards the room.

**XXXX**

Instead of having dinner at nine, at Elliot's apartment, they stopped by a 24 hour Chinese take out place, and headed to hers, which was closer. It was almost eleven at night and they would end up reporting to work at seven the next morning, two hours early. Neither cared very much, it was all a part of the job, and they had both agreed to it when they became cops.

Their case wasn't anything new. A thirty something woman, possibly a hooker, was found dead in an alley, with signs of trauma that could only be caused by rape. Harsh, but ordinary for them. And, even though they had seen it hundreds of times, it still got to both of them. But, each knew that the other had their own ways of dealing with the job, and therefore didn't start up a conversation about their workday.

"So, what was this conversation about?" Olivia questioned, taking a bite of her peppered steak.

"Us," he informed her, "and marriage."

She nearly choked on her meat, and ended up coughing it back up, holding her chest in slight pain. "W...wh..._what_?"

"Dickey and Elizabeth asked me if the two of us were going to get married before next year." he stated, nonchalant. As if his children asked him about his love life every morning over their Cheerios. "Apparently, they have both given a lot of thought on the subject-- which is odd, since they just found out about our relationship yesterday."

"And Elizabeth wasn't exactly approving of it," she reminded him. Elliot nodded and another thought came to Olivia's mind, "So... what did you tell them?"

"I just said I didn't know, it was too soon in the relationship to be guessing on marriage dates," he shrugged and grabbed an egg roll from the paper bag. "To be honest, I was kind of caught off guard, and that was the only thing I could think of that would end the conversation."

"We haven't even been dating a week..."

"I know."

"Why would we be thinking about marriage so soon?"

Elliot shrugged, "I don't know."

"We wouldn't be," she stated.

"I know."

"We haven't even--"

"Yeah..."

Olivia dazed off for a few minutes, wondering how on earth his twins had come up with the idea of them being married by the end of the year. "You think we might?" she blurted out before she could stop herself, then smiled sheepishly for it. "I mean... do you think it's at all possible that we could be?"

He thought over his answer carefully, "Anything is possible, I guess..."

"But this isn't just _anything_, Elliot. This is our lives."

"I wouldn't be disappointed if we were..."

She smiled, "Neither would I."

**XXXX**

Since it was so late, she had offered him the couch bed, which he had agreed to. There was a extra change of clothes in the trunk of his car, for extreme cases that kept them at work for a day or longer. Also, there was a pair of clothes at her place, that they had kept there after the flu had made him bed ridden. He simply changed into the sweat pants there and they parted for the night.

Only, he found, an hour later, that sleep was fleeting. He lied in bed, staring at the ceiling, and going over their conversation in his mind, looking for any hidden clues she might have sneaked in. She had, after all, claimed that, marriage in the near future would be fine with her... and what did that mean exactly? That she wanted to get married, and sometime soon, or that, if he asked, she simply wouldn't say no?

After he got bored of lying in bed, he slid from under the covers, and quietly padded through the apartment and into her room. She was asleep, and he was thankful that at least one of them would be well rested for work in the morning. So as not to wake her, he sat in the rocking chair in the far corner of the room. She had told him once that it had belonged to her mother, who had gotten it from her mother, who's mother had made it. When Serena had passed, it was one of the few things that Olivia had received that meant something to her. He hoped she wouldn't be upset for him sitting in it.

While she slept, he sat in the chair, making sure not to rock, and watched her. He briefly wondered what she would think, were she to wake up, but she was sleeping so peacefully that he didn't think it likely that she would. As he watched the woman sleeping before him, he thought about the way their relationship was moving. True, they had only officially been dating about five days, but the feelings had manifested long before then. He knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her; but he didn't know how much time he should wait before he asked her to. As far as he was concerned, he would marry her the next morning, if that was what she wanted. But, he didn't want her to rush, and she hadn't really had the best relationships in the past.

How long was long enough? Three months, four months, half a year? They were moving fairly slow, because both had figured that would be the best. He had been rushed into marriage with his previous wife, and every time she had rushed in the past things had ended badly, so it only made sense to take things slowly. They didn't want to ruin what they could have because they wanted to, for a lack of better words, focus on the more physical aspects of a relationship. He was OK with it and she was OK with it, and things had been going well, but after what the kids had brought up... he was just wondering how slow they were going to be taking things.

"Are you just going to sit there all night?" a groggy voice called from the other side of the room.

Slightly surprised that she was awake, but still having expected it in more ways than one, he smiled. "I was planning on it, yes."

"Well," she replied, sitting up in her bed and looking across the room at him, "you sitting in that chair and staring is keeping me awake, so get your ass in bed, and stare. Maybe it won't be as noticeable."

"You sure?" he questioned.

"You think I can't control myself... or worried that you can't?" Not giving him the time to answer, she laid back down. "Just get into the bed, Stabler."

"Ma'am, yes ma'am," he agreed, getting out of the chair and crawling under the covers of her bed. She shifted positions immediately, turning to face him, hiding her face in his t-shirt. He wrapped his arms around her side and closed his eyes. Maybe he could get a few hours of sleep this way.

**XXXX**

**  
Authors Note: Let me know what'cha think!**


	21. Chapter Twenty One

**Influenza**

**Chapter Twenty One**

**  
Disclaimer: The show is not my property, and neither are the characters.**

XXXX

_A few days later..._

"Shit," Olivia cursed, picking herself off of the ground after their suspect had pushed her, and ran off. If she could see herself at that moment, she knew her eyes were burning with anger, and her cheeks had turned red for the same reason. The moment she was standing, her equilibrium back in swing, she took off down the sidewalk, after the man. Ahead of her she could see her partners back, as he raced after the same person she was.

As she ran, she pulled out her radio, just in case Elliot hadn't managed to call in the man. She yelled into the monitor which street they were on, and that the suspect had assaulted an officer before fleeing. Olivia knew that before she even finished the call, somebody had been sent out.

The man, Jeffery Williams, turned a corner, and Elliot followed. She knew immediately that it was a dead-end street, and panicked. When she had been falling backwards onto the ground she had seen the holster on Jeffery's best. He had a gun. She cursed again, and ran as fast as she could. Just as she turned the corner, Jeffery pulled his gun, and Elliot instantly did the same. When Olivia came to a stop, hers was already out and aimed.

"Drop it, Jeff!" Elliot called out, having noticed that Olivia was directly to his right, her weapon out, just as his was. Jeffery didn't comply, and Elliot threw a brief glance in her direction. _Get out_, his eyes said. But Olivia didn't move.

In the distance, sirens moaned, the noise growing as the cop cars came closer. Jeffery cursed and clicked off the safety, sending chills down Olivia's spine. Still, she stayed in her position. "If you put it down, Jeffery, we can work this out," it was a lie, but whatever it took to keep them alive. "If not, you'll be going to jail for a long time!"

Jeffery seemed to refocus his attention, switching his gun from Elliot, to Olivia, as if he had just discovered her existence in the alleyway. There was a gash on her elbow, from where she skid across the ground, and her palms were brunt from attempting to stop herself. He snickered at her, a sickening grin that caused chills to run down her spine. In the distance, the sirens wailed. They were getting closer.

"Jeffery!" Elliot yelled, "Jeffery drop the gun!" His voice was frantic and Olivia wasn't the only one to notice so. The smile on Jeffery's face doubled in size, as if he was being let in on a private joke, and both detectives knew that couldn't be good. At the same moment, their fingers tightened around the trigger, readying the weapons, in case the worst should happen.

"I'm already going to jail for life!" he yelled out. "What's a couple more years?"

"Don't do this," Olivia said, shaking her head. "It's not worth dying for!"

Williams shook his head, "That's where you and I differ!" he told her. "I think it is!" Then, as if he was mimicking Elliot and Olivia's earlier actions, his finger tightened the trigger, only it didn't stop. A booming sound, as loud as thunder, erupted in the alley, and before Olivia knew it, she was falling backwards once again...

But she felt no pain. No burning of flesh as the bullet ripped through her body, no stabbing pain as it exited through the other side. Only herself, falling backwards, and her head hitting the concrete, the pressure of a body falling on top of her. Just as the sound of gunfire echoed through the alley, so did the sound of slamming doors. Before Williams could get another shot out, disgruntled at having missed his target the first time around, there were more than five officers surrounding the area, their weapons drawn out as well.

"Don't even think about it!" a nameless officer yelled.

Jeffery scowled and held his hands up, letting the gun slip from his right one. In that instant, the officers swarmed him, one pushing him forcefully against the brick wall of the alley and twisting his arms behind him, to cuff them.

Olivia watched it all from her uncomfortable spot on the ground, still bewildered and confused at how she had gotten there. Her best guess, however, was an easy one. Elliot was lying over her, protecting her. He must have pushed her out of the way when he noticed Jeffery was getting ready to shoot. That explained why she was on the ground, but it didn't explain why he was still over her.

She forced herself to sit upwards, pushing him off of her as she did so, "Elliot?" she questioned, checking to make sure he wasn't hit. As far as she could see there was no blood, and he was conscious. "You can get off of me now, he's cuffed."

"I twisted my ankle," he groaned, as she slid from under him. "You're gonna have to help me up." She nodded and pulled herself off of the ground for the second time that day, wincing as her tender palms slid against the ground once more. He extended his hand to her when she was standing and she grabbed hold of it again, this time keeping herself from showing the pain as he pulled himself up, with a lot of effort on her part.

He tried to walk and nearly fell, before she wrapped her arm around him and let him lean on her for support. An officer walked over to the two of them and directed them to her car, where Elliot leaned against the hood while they spoke. "You two are SVU?" she questioned, pulling out her notebook to jot down the answers.

"Yeah." Olivia told her, "We were getting ready to bring him in on questioning involving a rape homicide."

"And he did what?"

Olivia sighed, "Pushed me, as hard as he could, and took off down the street. My partner chased after him while I got up, and I called it in as I followed."

"Are you two hurt?"

"Nothing major," Elliot assured her. "But it could have been much worse. He attempted to shoot my partner."

"Well," the officer claimed, "I would still suggest that you get your ankle checked out, and then make your formal statement later." She nodded towards the still bleeding cut stretching from the top of Olivia's elbow, down to the middle of her arm, "You, as well."

They both nodded, having figured the same themselves. "We'll do that." And, they did. Olivia helped Elliot back to the car, noting that he wasn't very happy about needed her to do so, and drove them towards the nearest hospital, where they sat in the ER for half an hour before his ankle was checked out and her arm was stitched up. Apparently, she had cut herself on a piece of glass lying on the ground. And his ankle was indeed twisted. He was lucky it hadn't shattered.

Then, after they left the hospital, they returned to the house, Elliot walking on crutches. "Only for the rest of today and tomorrow," he told the captain upon questioning. "It's just a precaution."

"And your arm?" he asked, noticing the bandage on Olivia's arm.

"Ten stitches." she informed him.

He sighed deeply, "Make your statements and then take the rest of today, and tomorrow, off. I expect to see you back here Thursday ready for work."

The two nodded and went to their desks, where they spent the lighter part of half an hour before their reports were over and they headed out, Olivia being the one to drive. Only, once they got into the car, she wouldn't talk to him, much less tell him where they were going.

Fifteen minutes later, she pulled off the road, beside Central Park, and shut the car off. "We need to talk." she claimed, without looking over at him.

He had figured as much from the way she was acting, "About what?"

"Today."

As much as he could assume, that meant Williams. "Yeah... and?"

She finally looked over at him, and when she did, he wished she hadn't. Her eyes were burning with anger, and it was directed at him. "You know why it's normally frowned upon when partners are dating?" Without giving him the opportunity to reply, she continued, answering her own question. "So they don't make _stupid_ mistakes in order to save the one they love."

"Olivia, I--"

"You faltered out there, El," she said, cutting him off. "You forgot that before I was your girlfriend, I was a cop, and you thought you had to protect me. Newsflash, Elliot, I know what I am doing, you don't need to save me. I can do that myself. I am your partner, I am supposed to watch your back. You can't try to protect me, while I'm doing my job and protecting you." She took a breath and continued. "That gun was aimed at _you _and if you hadn't been so worried about me, we could have gotten through that without you getting a twisted ankle. So next time, think of me as your partner, OK?"

He shook his head, "I was thinking about you as my partner, Olivia. You think, that if we weren't involved, I wouldn't have tried my damnedest to make sure you weren't hurt? You said so yourself, our job is to watch each others backs, that is what I was doing."

"You were the one with a gun pointed at your chest," she replied, her eyes still angry. "I didn't need my back watched,_ you_ did." She shook her head and looked away, "Maybe we shouldn't do this anymore... being partners. We're compromised now."

"The hell we are," he nearly shouted. "Olivia, I am not giving you up as my partner because of one damn mistake. It happens, OK? The thing is, we are both alive. That is all that matters here. Not the fact that, yes, I wanted to protect you, and yes, I did it partly because I love you. If that makes me compromised, then oh well. The fact of the matter is, that dating or not, I would have done the same thing. Because you're my partner."

"You were trying to play the hero, El. You're a cop, not Superman. You can't leap tall buildings in a single leap or fly through the air at will. And you can't save my life and your life at the same time. You got lucky today. Next time, who knows?" She pursed her lips, "I don't want to lose you, because you were trying to save my life. I couldn't live with that. You need to let me do my job, instead of pretending like I need you to save me. I signed up for this, just the same as you did. I know the risks, I was, and still am, willing to take them."

Elliot sat, defeated, "He would have killed you. I wasn't going to let you die because of me."

"You showed your emotions, El... you can't do that."

He sighed, "I know, I know... it won't happen again. Trust me."

Her eyes had softened and she reached out to run her fingers along her cheek, wincing slightly at the pull on her stitches, "I understand why you were worried, Elliot. I do. And, if I was in your position, I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing. But, we both need to focus on our jobs, and not each other. I don't want to have to go through this again..."

He nodded and she turned back towards the road, starting the car and taking off down the street. A few minutes later, she pulled into a parking space, in front of his apartment and helped him out of the car. "Do you want to come inside, have something to eat?" he questioned, knowing that she would probably decline. She was still mad at him. And he knew it.

"Maybe later..." she told him, "right now all I want is a hot shower."

"We could do that, too..."

A small smile spread across her face, "Not tonight."

Elliot nodded, "I'll talk to you later, then?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Call me if you need anything."

"OK," he told her, knowing full well that he most likely wouldn't, even if he did need help. There was only so much damage that could be done to one's ego in such a short amount of time, as it were.

She left his car there, and walked down the street, headed in the direction of her own apartment. It was only six blocks away, and a very short walk for a New Yorker. As she walked off, he turned and headed into his building, thankful that there was an elevator in it, and he wouldn't have to walk up the three flights of stairs it took to get to his apartment.

**XXXX**

**A/N: Well... tell me what'cha think of it**


	22. Chapter Twenty Two

**Influenza **

Chapter Twenty Two

**Disclaimer: None of it is mine, excluding the idea for the story, of course.**

**XXXX**

When she had told him that all she wanted to do that night was take a hot shower, she hadn't been joking. But, as she walked back to her apartment, she realized that showering would probably be a bit of a problem, with the bandage covering the most of her lower arm. So, instead, when she got home, instead of jumping into a nice, steaming shower, she drew up a bath, forgoing the bubbles.

Sighing as she slid into the hot liquid, she thought of the events of the day. Sure, she had gone through similar situations before, but never had she been through such a close call, and never before had Elliot tried to baby her, as if she wasn't capable of disarming a suspect. The thought still boiled her blood, and she imagined that she would be angry with him for quite awhile, until he had the chance to prove to her that he didn't see her as the proverbial damsel in distress. And she knew better than to hope for one of those kinds of situations.

As she bathed, being careful not to wet her stitched arm, she wondered what she would do with her day off. Maybe she would just spend a lazy day at home, not changing out of her pajamas and getting up only to get more ice-cream. Then again, her apartment could use some mid-winter cleaning, and Christmas was less than two weeks away, and she had barely done any shopping at all. This year she had to think differently than all the previous ones. With Munch, Fin, Alex, and Cragen, things would be the same. But when it came to Elliot and his kids, she couldn't be so universal with the gifts. They had to have meaning. Now they weren't just her partner and her partner's kids, it was her boyfriend and her boyfriend's kids.

Even though her former plan sounded a lot more appealing to her, Olivia decided that she would go to the mall the next day, and then clean her apartment later on in the evening. Well, as much as she could clean with only one good arm, that was. Resting her back against the edge of the tub, she allowed herself a few more minutes of laziness, and thought. She had a fairly good idea of what to get Kathleen, having remembered the girl speaking of a certain light-blue soccer ball she had her eye on, but as for the others, she had no clue. What did you get thirteen year old twins and a nearly twenty-one year old college student?

Then again, Dickey liked video games, and Elizabeth loved and kind of purse, so they might not be that hard to get something for. All Olivia would be have to do would be to call Elliot and ask him what they didn't have that they wanted, even if she was still a bit upset with him. For Maureen, she would have to do a bit more thinking, but she was sure she could find something the girl might like. The one person she knew she would end up stressing over was Elliot. How many times before had she bought a gift for a boyfriend? Not very many...

A watch maybe? His was a bit old, she thought. That seemed a tad bit impersonal to her, though, and she wanted whatever she got to be something only she would get for him. She would probably end up getting one of the guys a watch, and to get your boyfriend the same thing you got a simple friend didn't sound so glamorous.

With another sigh she got out of the tub, pulling the drain, then grabbing a towel from the rack next to her. Wrapping it tightly around her body, she turned the fan on, to un-fog the mirrors, and left the bathroom to change. After putting on a pair of jogging pants and a simple, black tank-top, she went back into the bathroom and towel-dried her hair, then brushed her teeth.

She ate Roman Noodles for dinner, as she watched the local news, and then skipped over to the weather channel to see what it would be like the next day. Not surprisingly, it would be in the late 30's, and thankfully, with no chance of snow or rain. The skies would be clear, and hopefully that would mean with the sunlight it wouldn't seem so cold. When she was done eating, she washed the dishes that were in her sink and then sat back in front of the TV, surfing through the channels for the lighter part of half an hour before giving up and deciding to call it an early night. She wouldn't have to be up so early in the morning, but she probably needed to catch up on her sleep, and had the perfect opportunity to do so.

So, she shut off the TV and headed into her bedroom, slipping under the covers and wincing slightly at the stab of pain coming from her stitched up arm. Being mindful not to hit it again, she found a comfortable spot and moved around until she was satisified in the position she was in, then closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take over. She had a very busy day ahead of her, and the sooner it was over, the better.

**XXXX**

He called his kids when he got home. It had become a habit for him lately, now that he couldn't see them when he walked through the door. The phone calls never lasted too long, just enough time for him to ask how their day went and what they were planning on doing the next one. Maybe, subconsciously, he just wanted to assure him that he was alive, and that some criminal hadn't gotten the better of him during the work day. Either way, they didn't seem to mind the daily talks and he thrived on them. Lately he had been feeling a bit lonely.

They were supposed to be staying at his apartment that night, since it was a Tuesday, but Kathy had plans the next night, and so they had decided to switch the week around, so that the kids would be at his apartment Wednesday and Thursday, and then they would go back to their mothers until the next Tuesday. It wasn't very much time for him to spend with his children, but with his job he probably wouldn't have been home much anyway.

After the phone call he clumsily made his way into his bathroom, where he turned on the water, in order to take a bath. With his ankle the last thing he needed was to take a shower, and his muscles were sore and in need of a relaxing, hot bath anyway. Having to sit on the edge of the tub, in order to do so, he undressed and then slipped into the water, groaning when his hurt ankle moved slightly.

As he laid in the warmth of the tub, he tried his best not to think about the things that had gone on that day. He knew that Olivia was upset with him for allowing his emotions to get the better of him, and truthfully, he was disappointed with himself for the same reason. When they had started up their relationship, he had been overly confident that he would manage to keep work and home separate, and not focus on the more intimate part of his life with her, and only think of their working relations. His pride had been his downfall, and he wasn't that surprised by it.

Wondering how on earth he was going to manage to make this up to her, he carefully washed, making sure not to bump his ankle and cause himself any more pain. He wasn't going to call her just yet, because he knew she wouldn't want to speak with him, but he had to do something, relatively soon. Maybe the next day, since they had time-off. But what could he do to make up for his idiocy that afternoon?

Pondering over his options, he let the water out of the tub and then got out of it himself, wrapping a towel around his waist and making his way into his bedroom slowly, a wince on his face from walking without the crutches. Realizing that he wouldn't be able to get to her apartment, unless he took a cab, and that she most likely wouldn't want to see him, he contemplated sending flowers. She liked roses, he knew, white ones with pink edges. Perhaps that would cool her down a bit.

Deciding that flowers was what he would do, he changed and then found the phone and phone-book, then searched the yellow pages for somewhere near by. April Flowers was only two blocks down the street, and their business hours showed that they would be open for fifteen more minutes, so he called and ordered a dozen roses to send to her the next afternoon. Hopefully, they would work, and the next night she would call and all would be back to normal.

Hopefully.

**XXXX**

Olivia set her bags on the ground, searching through her purse for the key to her apartment, with her good arm. When she found them she sighed and opened the door, then grabbed her bags once more and entered the apartment. She set them down on the table and made her way to her couch, where she tiredly sat down and closed her eyes. Shopping was exhausting.

After spending hours at the mall and walking up and down Time Square, she had finished with most of her shopping. The soccer ball Kathleen had wanted was at some sports store that Olivia had found after half an hour of searching for, and while she was there she had found a pink tennis racket. From what she had heard, Lizzie played tennis, and she knew the girl's favorite color was pink, so she bought it, hoping that the thirteen year old didn't own it already. Dickey had been a bit harder to shop for, but she had found a game shop, and called Kathleen's cell phone, quizzing the girl on what the boy would want. Kathleen described some football game to her and Olivia found it, and then asked what Maureen would like.

After getting a few suggestions she had searched around the mall, having a harder time finding something for the oldest of Elliot's children than the others. When it was over with, she had bought the girl a large gift-basket from Bath & Body Works, along with a gift card from a store that Kathleen had mentioned Maureen shopped at. It wasn't as original as the others, but then again, Maureen was much older and in college, so it seemed like something she would need.

The adults had been much harder to shop for. Since Munch had been complaining of the piece of crap watch he owned, she had bought him a new one, along with a pack of surgical masks, knowing how paranoid he was when it came to diseases. For Fin, she had gotten him his favorite type of cologne, and, as a joke, a pack of scrunchies. Alex was easy, Olivia got her what she always did. Perfume. On Christmas, Olivia would open her gift from the ADA to find the exact same thing. Cragen had been one of the hardest to find for. Olivia wasn't sure what to get her boss, and in the end, she had gotten him a watch as well. Men were terrible to shop for.

When it came to Elliot, she hadn't even tried to find him something. That would require a lot more time that she was in the mood for shopping. Her arm was hurting and all she had wanted was to go home and lie down. So, she cut her losses and headed back to her apartment.

Five minutes of lying down on the couch and her buzzer went off. Olivia sighed and dragged herself from her comfortable spot, and headed for the speaker, pressing the button and asking who was at the other end. 

"Delivery for Olivia Benson?" the man on the other end said.

"Come on up," she sighed, pushing the button to unlock the door. A few minutes later and there was a knock at her own door, which she opened immediately, having been waiting for whoever and whatever it was.

Only to be greeted by a mass of white roses. Not only white roses, but white roses with pink tips. Olivia caught herself grinning and stopped, who knew who the flowers were from? There was a good chance they weren't from him, of course, although, she couldn't think of anybody else that would send her a dozen roses.

She took the flowers from the man and signed, then shut her apartment door and took them to the kitchen, where she set them down on her counter and looked for a note. After a few seconds she found it, and took it out, to read it. It was a small white card, with two words on it. _I'm sorry._ She grinned again, and turned it around to see if there was a name on the back side. Instead of another name, she found two more words. _Call me?_

Olivia set the card down and looked over at her phone. OK, so maybe she wasn't that mad at him anymore. She couldn't blame him really, because she probably would have done the same thing, had she been in his position. Besides, she needed some clues on what to get him for Christmas...

Picking up the phone, she sighed. One dozen roses and she turned to mush. How typical.

**XXXX**

**A/N: Anyway... Let me know what'cha think of it.**


	23. Chapter Twenty Three

**Influenza**

**Chapter Twenty Three**

**  
Disclaimer: Nope, the show and the characters still do not belong to me. I'm working on it though... so maybe one day. **

**XXXX**

He was waiting for her to call, when she did. Well, not waiting, per se. He had been watching TV when his phone rang, and it just so happened to be in his lap at the time. No coincidence at all... None whatsoever.

Nonetheless, when the phone rang, he had known that it was her. At least, he had hoped that it would be her. And when the phone rang for the second time, and the Caller ID came up, he found himself correct. It was her calling. So, the roses had worked. Or... they hadn't and she was calling to fuss at him some more, for trying to buy her way out of her anger. He really needed to stop over-analyzing things.

"Stabler," he greeted into the phone, although he knew that she knew that he knew it was her. It was programmed into his mind, answer the phone by using your surname. It was easier that way.

"Hey, El," she replied. "Thanks for the flowers."

Having already gone through this situation in his mind, his lips curled into a mischievous smile. "You're welcome..." he told her graciously, "What flowers?"

"What do you mean 'what flowers'? The ones that you sent me. White with pink tips. A dozen. Delivered to my apartment about five minutes ago."

"If somebody sent you flowers, Liv, it wasn't me..." he trailed off. "You're not seeing somebody else are you? I'm not going to have to arrest some Joe on a bogus charge, am I?"

She laughed at him, "Of course not! Are you sure that you didn't send them? The card said 'I'm sorry' on it, and well... you're the only one lately who's made me mad."

"I don't know what to tell you, Olivia. It wasn't me. Maybe you have a secret admirer."

"Uh-huh..." she replied, incredulous. "I don't believe you, Stabler."

He paused, then his grin broadened. "You shouldn't. I'm lying."

"I knew it!" she said in triumph. "Not many people know that they're my favorite. It had to be you. Or Alex, and I highly doubt she's going to ris... send me flowers from the afterlife."

"The message would fit," he said with a shrug.

"You're forgetting the other side said 'call me'."

"Hey, they've got those physic guys that can do all that crap for you, you know? That Silva Brown woman that's always on the talk shows."

Olivia paused for a second, "You watch talk shows?"

"No," he replied with a laugh. "Kathy used to."

"Oh..."

"I missed you today," he told her, to take her off of the subject. He knew that she was still insecure about his past marriage to Kathy and the last thing he wanted was to upset her further. "I was hoping you would have come over... but I guess that's pressing my luck."

"You're right," she said. "But, I'm not _that_ mad at you, you know? I do understand why you acted like you did and I can't blame you for it, because I acted the way I did for the same exact reasons. I love you and I don't want to lose you."

"Don't worry," he assured her, "I'm gonna be around for a long time."

"You'd better be." She was quiet for a moment, but then changed the subject to the holiday. "What are we going to be doing for Christmas?"

Thinking about her statement, he decided that the word 'we' had never been so important before. It was their first holiday together, as a couple. "The kids are coming over for Christmas Eve, but only for a few hours, and then Maureen is taking them back to their mother's... I was thinking that you and I could spend a nice, quiet evening at my place, staying up late to see if Santa comes."

"I don't know," she replied with a sigh. "You've been a naughty boy this year..."

"Not as naughty as I could be," he told her, his voice husky and suggesting. She laughed, though to him it sounded strained, and he continued, "Besides, even if he doesn't come for me, he'll definitely swing by to drop some things off for you."

"I thought that Santa always left things at your own house, doesn't he? I don't live with you, Stabler. Nice try though. Better luck next time."

"That can be easily fixed, you know," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "The whole you not living with me thing."

There was a silence from her end of the phone, and he briefly wondered if maybe he had said the wrong thing just then. Maybe he was thinking too far ahead into the future, moving to fast for her liking. "How about we wait a couple more months to think about that, okay?"

"Sure," he said with a relieved sigh. At least she hadn't totally dismissed the idea. That was a good sign. "But I still say that we should try and catch the big man in the act."

"Um-hmm," she replied. "And what would we do while we waited?"

"Earn ourselves a spot on next years naughty list?" he asked, half-serious, half... well, mostly serious. Unless she agreed.

She laughed again, and he was finally starting to believe that she wasn't mad at him anymore. She couldn't be angry with him and continue to joke around like they were. He knew her mad, and this wasn't it. He decided that he would have to make sure to thank God for that. "You laugh now," he said, "but you won't next year when you don't get any presents."

"Really now?" she inquired. "And just who said that I was planning on going along with your little idea?"

"Oh, you know you wanna," he told her. "There's no way you don't wanna."

"We'll see about that one," she replied. "Christmas Eve."

A smile of triumph passed over his face, even though he was sure she had already decided to spend the holiday at his place a long time earlier, he had just won. He had suggested earlier in the conversation that she should stay at his place the night before Christmas, and now, she was going to. "You're on." Oh, he was so gonna win this bet. "Don't worry, even though you're gonna be on Santa's naughty list next year, you won't be on mine."

"Is_ that _so?"

"Well... no, but I give more gifts to the one's on my naughty list anyway."

Once more she laughed, and once more he was reminded of how lucky he was. "And who all has been on your naughty list in the past?" she inquired of him.

"Nobody." he told her. "I just invented it."

"I see," she said with another laugh, although not such a rich one this time. "I'm glad that I inspired such an invention."

"You should be."

"Well... as much as I am enjoying this conversation," she replied with a sigh, "I have to clean up around my apartment and I am sure that you have a lot of things to do, as well. So, I am going to let you go for now."

"Okay. See you tomorrow?" he asked.

"Of course. Bright and early."

"I love you, ya know?"

"Yeah," she assured him. "I know. I love you, too."

"You're not mad anymore, are you?"

"Nah. I'll forgive you, for now."

He smiled. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Um-hmm," she murmured. "Goodbye."

"Bye."

They hung up and Elliot looked around his kitchen. He really didn't have anything to do, although he supposed his apartment could use a bit of cleaning. That wasn't very fun, in particular, and not the smartest thing to do when you're ankle had just been twisted. So, instead, he walked, albeit painfully, back to the living room where he had been during the beginning of the phone call, wondering briefly when he had migrated to the kitchen, and sat down in front of the TV. There was a marathon of C.S.I on and he had nothing better to do, so he flipped it to CBS and settled into the program.

**XXXX**

He walked into the station house the next morning, making a point not to limp, nor to show the pain that doing so was causing him. The captain had given him a day and a half off, which was more time than he wanted to be away, and the last thing he needed was to be sent home once more. He was already out of his mind with boredom, and in some ways, he knew work would cure that. Even if he was stuck on paperwork duty.

She was there already, wearing a dark purple sweater and a pair of black pants. No doubt, her leather jacket was hanging up in her locker. Her hair looked longer than it's norm, and he wondered briefly how he had missed it before. Hadn't she always kept her hair short? He decided that he didn't mind though, and maybe he preferred her hair at that length.

"Mornin'," Fin greeted sleepily from his desk, as Elliot slid into his chair. "How's tha leg?"

Elliot grunted in response, knowing that would be enough of a response for the man. Fin nodded, understanding, and went back to the paperwork he had been so diligently working on. Thursday mornings were no more fun than Wednesdays mornings, or Tuesday mornings, or any morning of the week, at that matter. Even though there was simply one day left until Friday, it wasn't the same as it had been during school. The weekend didn't bring the promise of late-afternoon sleep-ins, or the ability to lounge around the house in your pajamas the entire day. And Friday's were never a free day, not that they had been back then. But, they had always seemed easier. Now, Friday's were the most dreaded day of the week, and Monday's were what you looked forward too. Nobody feels like committing a crime on a Monday.

Olivia, however, wasn't satisfied by the caveman like behavior, and decided to question him further on the matter. "Your leg doesn't hurt anymore, then?" she asked, setting down her pen and looking up from her paperwork at him.

"I never said that," he replied with a shrug. "But, it's not that bad, and it won't get in the way of my work." He threw her a grin, "How's the arm?"

She looked over at her still bandaged arm, and sighed. "Sore... and I don't get the stitches out for a couple of days. Nothing to worry about, though. It'll heal and at the most, I'll have a light scar. Nothing I haven't gone through before." She shrugged as he had, "You sure your leg's not _that _bad?"

He nodded, "I'm sure. Don't worry about it.:"

Giving him a look that plainly said there was no way she wouldn't not worry about it, she went back to her paperwork, and he decided that he'd better start on his. "No coffee this morning?" he questioned, having noticed the lack of caffeine.

"Nah. Unless you want to drink the stuff Munch made."

Making a face that he tried to hide from John, Elliot shook his head, "I think I'll manage for a few hours."

"Smart boy," Fin muttered, not looking up from his work. Munch, having heard the jokes before, just sighed and pretended to ignore the conversation going on around him. It was a Thursday morning, anyway, and those were never fun. Now Monday mornings, _those_ could get interesting.

Elliot looked up at Olivia in time to see a smile pass across her face, as she studied her paperwork. No, that couldn't be right. The last thing anybody did while doing paperwork was smile. Curiosity wining over, he leaned over the desk and took the papers from her hands, ignoring the shout of protest from her.

"Olivia Benson, this is not paperwork," he claimed, in mock shock.

In his hands, he held her _Naughty List_ which contained of only one person; himself.

She shrugged, reached over the desk as he had, and grabbed the paper back from him. With a raised eyebrow, and her voice at a low, suggesting tone, she replied, "Don't worry, I give the best presents to the people on my naughty list, too."

**XXXX**

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update! This would have been out earlier, but something was either wrong with my computer, or fanfiction, because I couldn't sign in. Hopefully the next update won't take as long! Anyway, you know what to do, let me know what'cha think! I hope you're still enjoying this, even through the 10 plus days wait. **


	24. Chapter Twenty Four

**Influenza**

**Chapter Twenty Four**

**Disclaimer: Nah, not my show, not my characters. My idea, though. If you want that, you're gonna have to ask, and pay.**

**XXXX**

Friday went a lot like Thursday had, at least for Elliot and Olivia it did. A case came in, but Munch and Fin picked it up, since they had just finished court and had their plate empty. Olivia and Elliot, on the other hand, had one more day of court, Novak and the defense attorney still had to present their closing arguments, and hopefully the jury wouldn't take too long to deliberate, or, more so, they would see eye to eye, and not end up a hung jury. They had to be at the courthouse before noon, so they had been forced to eat an early lunch.

They had been lucky though, and the jury took two hours to come back with a guilty verdict. When they got back to the precinct, it was already 15 minutes until 5 o'clock, so the captain had let them both go home, letting them know that if a case came in, they would be the first ones he would call. Not surprised, Olivia and Elliot had left the station house, heading back for his apartment. Since Christmas fell on a Saturday that year, the kids would be spending the next weekend with their mother, and part of Friday night with their father, so that weekend they were staying over at his place. Kathleen had informed the couple that she was cooking dinner for everybody that night, and then taking the twins out to see a movie, allowing them some 'alone time'. Olivia had briefly wondered how far Kathleen thought she had gone with the girl's father. Perhaps she would have to talk to her one night.

The meal had been simple, hamburgers, potato chips, and baked beans. Kathleen ushered the twins out of the house around 7 o'clock, in order to catch their movie at 7:30. Left alone, with nothing else to do, Olivia began to clean up the kitchen. That was, until Elliot decided to distract her.

"Come on," he told her in-between kisses, "I'll do that later."

"Um-hmm," she replied, knowing full well either she would finish it or Kathleen will. "What else is there to do?"

His eyes darkened and he grinned at her, "Oh, I bet I can think of a few things..."

"With your hurt leg and my still-stitched up arm?" she questioned. "I don't think so, bud."

"Oh, you're no fun," he told her as he lead her into the living room. He sat down on the couch and pulled her into his lap, crushing his lips onto hers. She carefully snaked her arms around his neck, making sure she didn't hit the stitches, and deepened the kiss. Maybe they couldn't do _that_ but kissing wasn't going to cause either of them any pain.

His hands slipped under her shirt, connecting with the bare skin of her lower back. She arched slightly at the touch, since his hands were cold, and he chuckled into the kiss. When she broke for air, he took the opportunity to gently pull her shirt over her head, and then throw it across the room. She grinned, then did the same with his. "Kathleen should take the twins to the movies more often," she told him, leaning in once more and capturing his lips with hers.

Only seconds later, the shrill ringing of Elliot's home phone filled the air, causing the owner of the device to groan. "Ignore it," he told her, his voice low and annoyed. She obeyed, running her nails up and down his back gently, smiling when she felt him shiver. The really should have done this a long time ago.

"Maybe we should–" the telephone cut him off, but this time it wasn't his home phone, or his cell phone. It was hers. She sighed, pulling away from him, to answer her phone. But, he kept his hold on her, shaking his head. "Just ignore it."

"What if it's Cragen?" she questioned, pulling back when his fingers went to remove her bra. "We told him that our relationship wasn't going to effect our work– don't make us hypocrites."

He scowled, knowing she was right. "Fine, but if it's not him, turn the damned thing off."

She had no objections to that, and got up from the couch to answer her phone, picking up her shirt along the way, just in case. Catching it right before the voice mail picked up, she tried to make her voice as calm as possible, "Benson?"

"Hey," she was right. It was Cragen. Looking over at Elliot, she frowned and pulled her shirt on over her head, "We got a case. A girl, fifteen years old, was at a friend's party, no supervision, alcohol, drugs, that kind of thing, and was just found by the girl who threw the party's parents. Apparently, they came home early. She was upstairs in the guest room, unconscious, badly beaten, and naked. The girl is at the hospital right now, but I want you and Elliot to head over to the scene." The was a pause from the Captain's end, "Only problem is, he's not answering his phone."

Cursing in her head, she replied, "Did you try his cell phone? I think the kids are at his house, he might be out with them."

"No, I just called his home phone. Your's, too, by the way. I got no answer there."

"Yeah," she said, "I'm out... grocery shopping. My fridge only had old Chinese food and some entire new species of mold growing on my cheese..." maybe the detail would fool him.

"Alright, we'll, I'll get a hold of Stabler, and tell him where to meet you at. The address is 354 Washington street. You know where that is?"

She was fairly certain that she did, "Yeah. I'm on my way right now."

The captain hung up and only seconds later, Elliot's cell phone rang. Already wearing his shirt, he picked it up immediately, "Stabler?"

There was a long pause, and then, "Sure thing, Cap." He then hung up the phone. Olivia wondered briefly why she got the third degree and he only said four words during the entire conversation. Throwing him a suspicious look, she grabbed her badge and gun from where she had left them. He grinned, doing the same.

"Captain told me to let you know that you're a terrible liar." he seemed amused by that.

"That's great, Elliot." she replied. "Now he knows you didn't answer your phone because you were with me."

"Yeah, but you did answer your phone," he reminded her.

"With no help from you," she retorted. "You remember? 'Just leave it'?"

He frowned, "Well, you can't blame a man for tryin'."

"Actually," she replied, "in this situation, I believe I can."

They headed out the door, and as he locked it behind them, he said, "You're just mad because you almost got yourself a spot on Santa's naughty list."

**XXXX**

It was after four in the morning, and Olivia was just then climbing into _her_ bed. Their case had been open and shut. They processed the scene, collected everything that there was to collect, sent it off to the lab, then went to the hospital to see if the girl had woken up. She had, and when they talked with her, there had been no holding back. She knew who had raped her, and she had no problem telling them so. Richard Cooper, was his name. He was a senior, one of those guys every girl dreams of dating. Tall, good looking, sports-star, and in other words, popular.

She had thought they were going upstairs to do some harmless making out, nothing more, nothing less. When he tried to take things further, she said no. When he got mad, she tried to run, but he was a football player, and much stronger than she was. He pushed her onto the bed, and beat her until she passed out. Which was the most fortunate thing for her, she didn't have to remember everything he had done. It hurt the case a bit, but with the DNA from the rape kit, and the skin that had been found under her nails, it would be fine. The boy was brought in for questioning, made to give a DNA sample, which was rushed off to the lab. The results would be in the next morning, but until then, the 18 year old, semester away from graduating, football star was in central booking.

After all of that, the last thing she wanted to do was finish off what she and Elliot had started. Not only were neither in the mood any longer, the kids were home by then, and he couldn't just abandoned them to stay at her place. Taking their relationship that step further was put off for the night, and possibly many more.

She had shed her work clothes, not bothering to put on anything to wear to sleep, and crawled into her bed in her bra and panties, glad that her heater was working for a change. It wasn't too long after she closed her eyes that she was falling into a peaceful slumber. Thankfully, she wouldn't have to wake up the next morning.

Or, at least she thought so.

**XXXX**

It was 8:30, barely four hours after she had fallen asleep, when her home phone rang. She growled to herself, peeking up at the clock, then cursed out loud. Why was she being punished? They had gotten the bastard, shouldn't she be rewarded for that? Surely, this was not a reward. "Benson," she mumbled, when she finally willed herself to answer the device.

"Hey, Olivia?" it was Warner, which let Olivia know that the results were most likely in. "We have those comparisons that you ordered back."

"What do they say?" she questioned sleepily. It was too early for this.

"Both are a perfect match. I'm about to call over to Captain Cragen and let him know. I just thought you'd want to hear about it."

"Thank you," she told her. "I did. Do me a favor though, don't call Elliot. His kids are probably still asleep. I'll let him know later."

"Okay," the woman replied. "Goodnight, Olivia."

She laughed tiredly, then told the woman goodbye. Hanging up the phone, she sighed, then turned around in her bed, and went right back to sleep.

**XXXX**

It was almost half after ten when his phone rang that morning. He was already awake, having been woken by his son half an hour before, in order for him to make pancakes and eggs. When he looked at the Caller ID he was a bit surprised to see that it was Olivia. He had figured she would still be in bed at that time. "Hey," he greeted, when he answered.

"Hi," she replied. "Warner called me this morning."

"Oh yeah?" he questioned. "What did she have to say?"

"Both samples were a perfect match to the DNA found in Marissa and under her nails. He's probably already in jail, waiting for arraignment. Which, is going to be Monday morning at 7:45. Cragen just called, he wants us there, and then after that, we get to do more paperwork."

"Sounds like fun," he said sarcastically. "When do we get off for Christmas, again?"

"Thursday and Friday, plus the weekend."

He groaned, "That long away, huh?"

"Yup, looks like you've still got less than a week to get me on the Naughty List. You're not doing so hot, there, bud."

"Really now?" he questioned. "I thought I made quite a deal of progress yesterday..."

"You're lucky the phone rang," she told him, "I would have bruised your ego, when I made you stop."

He snorted, "Yeah. Sure. That was really going to happen."

She was grinning, he knew it. He could hear her do so through the phone, "Yup. But, you keep telling yourself what you want to think."

"Fine, then I will."

"Okay," she replied. "Will I see you later?"

"If you want to come last minute Christmas shopping with me and the kids, then sure."

"Sounds like a plan," she told him. "What time are you leaving?"

"Well, Kathleen just locked herself in the bathroom, so probably not for another hour and a half."

Olivia laughed, "Alright, I'll be over sometime before twelve, then?"

"That's fine with me."

"Good, I'll see you then," she paused. "I love you, you know? Even without the naughty list."

He grinned, "I love you, too, without the naughty list. Although, I think it'd be more fun, with it."

She snorted, "Goodbye, Stabler."

They hung up the phone, and Elliot left the kitchen, where he had been talking. Dickey was sitting on the couch, watching Saturday morning cartoons, and he plopped down next to his son. "A full day of shopping," he said with a sigh. "How did we let your sisters talk us into this?"

He shrugged, "You're the one that said we could go."

That was true. He had agreed with the girls when the suggested the idea. "Everywhere is going to be packed, you know?"

"Yeah," the boy frowned. "I know." He flipped through the channels, and the two men sighed in unison. It was going to be a long Saturday.

**XXXX**

**A/N: Well... let me know what'cha think, of course!**


	25. Chapter Twenty Five

**Influenza**

**Chapter Twenty Five**

**Disclaimer: The show and the characters do not belong to me. **

**XXXX**

She ended up arriving at fifteen minutes before twelve, and even though Kathleen had found her way out of the bathroom, her younger sister had since then taken her place. Elliot gave Olivia a sympathetic look, when he answered the door, "It looks like you could have gone to bed for another hour or so," he told her, "we're still getting ready."

Dickey looked over at her from his spot on the couch and rolled his eyes, "Girls." he said sarcastically. "I don't think they realize that makeup does nothing to help their appearance."

Kathleen, who was sitting on the love seat, threw a pillow at him for his comment, and it hit him square in the head. Elliot warned the two against any more remarks or violence, and the two adults went into the kitchen. "I've already done most of my shopping, you're the only person I have to buy for," she told him. "Problem is, I have no idea what to get you."

He grinned and kissed her briefly, "A spot on the naughty list is fine with me."

Rolling her eyes much as Dickey had done, she hit him against the arm, half serious, half playful. "Think again, bud. Let's find something that I can buy, alright?"

Chuckling to himself, he nodded. "I'll keep my eye out for suggestions. What about you? Anything you can tell me to give me a few hints?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "I haven't really thought about it much. It's been awhile since I've even had to tell somebody what I wanted for the holidays..." she frowned and leaned up against the fridge. "All I can really say is no jewelry, well, at least no rings or no bracelets."

"Dad!" a voice, easily recognized as Elizabeth's called from somewhere outside of the kitchen. "We're all ready to go now!"

Sighing, Elliot kissed Olivia quickly and then the two of them left the kitchen, knowing that, for the rest of the day, that was probably all the alone time they were going to get.

**XXXX**

The mall was packed. After fifteen minutes of driving around and looking for a parking space, Elliot let the kids out of the car, so they could begin looking around. Kathleen promised not to let her brother and sister out of her sight, and to keep her phone on the entire time. She would call her father in an hour, tell him where they were, and then the five would meet up. Which meant, after parking, Elliot would have about forty-five minutes to find their presents and get them back out to the car.

It took them ten more minutes to park, and then they rushed inside the mall, which was even more packed than the parking lot. Pushing through the crowds of people, he found his way to Zales jewelry store, which was full of people, but not as packed as the halls were. "What are we doing here?" Olivia whispered as he lead her to a corner of the store, where the gem stone rings were held.

"Kathleen's present," he said, pointing at an emerald ring. It was gold, square cut, with three stones. The largest in the middle, with two smaller ones on either side. In between the emeralds were a row of three small diamonds. "It's on sale. From 2 something to one hundred."

"Oh," she said, "it's beautiful."

"Yeah, she's wanted her birth-stone ring ever since she turned sixteen last year." A sales woman came over to the two of them and smiled.

"Can I help you?" she questioned, looking at Olivia. Apparently, since she was a woman, she seemed more likely to be the one buying something. Olivia shook her head, and looked over at Elliot.

"I was wondering if I could look at this ring?" he asked, pointing at the one he had shown Olivia. The woman nodded and got it out of the show-case, handing it to him. The price tag read 105.85. "What size is it?" he questioned, looking up at her.

She took the ring back from him, and studied the tag. "It's a seven."

He winced, "I'm not sure what size she wears."

"You can always bring it back and have it sized." Olivia told him, with a shrug. "A warranty would cover it."

The woman nodded, "We have a year warranty for it, that would only be ten extra dollars, which covers sizing, cleaning, stone repairs, among other things."

"Alright," he said. "I'll take it then, with the warranty."

Five minutes later, they left the store, headed for some game place, and Dickey's "Santa" present. Of course, none of Elliot's kids still believed in Santa Claus, but in their household, the big, expensive gifts, were "Santa" gifts. This year, Dickey's "santa" gift was the most expensive. But then again, he wouldn't be getting the gift certificates to clothing stores, like his sisters.

"So, how are you and Kathy managing all of this?" Olivia questioned, as he payed for the X-box, along with two games to go with it. "I mean, this is a lot of money, for just you to be spending."

"I'll show her the receipts, and she'll pay me half," he informed her. "But that's just for the big things. We decided that we'll get the kids separate smaller gifts, as well. Like, I'm doing the certificate things for the girls, and a few games for Dickey, and she's getting some Bath & Body Works gift sets for the girls, and some more games for Dickey. Their grandparents will end up sending money."

"Oh," she replied. "Where are we headed now?"

"The Dell store."

"What for?"

"Maureen wants a new printer for her laptop, along with some computer gadget things for it. I don't know, she wrote the stuff down." he pulled out a piece of paper, and showed it to her. "It's all Greek to me."

"What does Elizabeth want?"

"A new stereo. You know, one of those five-disk things. I don't understand them, myself. I guess they require less effort, so you don't have to get up when you want to listen to a new CD."

"None of them want Ipods?"

"Kathleen informed me that, when her birthday rolls around, that's what she wants. She'll be the big 1-3, you know? Dickey said he wouldn't mind on, himself. Kathleen wants a laptop for her 17th, in May."

She sighed, sliding her hand into his, as the pushed their way through the crowds. Having already fought off the urge to hold up her badge and tell people to get the hell out of her way, she simply leaned up against his shoulder as they went searching for the computer store.

**XXXX**

Half an hour later, after dropping the kids things off in the trunk on the car, they headed back into the store, Elliot pulling out his cell phone and calling Kathleen. "Where are you at, hon?" he questioned, not even bothering to fight through the crowds at that moment. "Oh, okay. We'll be there in a few minutes." He turned to Olivia, "They're in Hollister. I'm going to need you to distract them for a little, so I can get their gift cards from there, and then across the hall in American Eagle. Okay?"

"Sure. I can do that."

So the two set off for the store. The outside was amazing, better than any other mall store she had ever seen. It was done up like a beach hut, fully equipt with a deck, beach chairs, and a straw covered top. Inside, the store was just as impressive, even if the clothes were too expensive. She would certainly never pay seventy dollars for a pair of torn up jeans, much less forty for a mini skirt. Deciding that she would never understand the minds of teenager girls, she began looking around the store for the girls.

She found them in the back part of the store, looking through the sales. "I like this one, Lizzie," Kathleen said, holding up a sweater. "It's on sale for twenty."

Elizabeth held up a sweater that was almost the same, although it was grey, where Kathleen's was dark blue, and the neckline was a square, where Kathleen's was a V. "And I like this one, it's on sale for 20, too."

"Good," Kathleen said, taking the shirt from Elizabeth and handing the girl hers. "I'm finished with you and Dickey now."

"I'm done with you and Maureen."

"Hi, girls." she said. "Your dad told me to find you, he's still getting some things." In fact, he was across the way, getting their gift cards from American Eagle, while she got them out of Hollister. "You done here?"

"Yeah, we just have to pay."

Luckily, there were three registers, and the lines went fast. They were out in less than ten minutes, and Elliot was still no where to be seen. "So, where do you guys need to go to now?"

Dickey shrugged, "I'm finished. I did most of my shopping in October."

Kathleen sighed, "Well, I still have to get Maureen her skirt from Express. We could go there."

"Okay." she said, and the four of them headed off in the other direction.

**XXXX**

An hour later, Kathleen had bought the skirt, which turned out to be knee length, and light blue, and Elizabeth had bought Dickey a sweater he liked from some boys clothing store. Then they had gone to Sears where they bought their dad some things. Dickey was in charge of pajamas, Elizabeth got the shirts, and Kathleen bought him a jacket she said he had wanted.

"What kind of thing would your father want?" she asked, as they headed down the mall, to a store where they would buy their mother her gifts.

"I don't know," Kathleen said, "he's hard to shop for. We always end up getting him clothes, or tools. But there's not much he can do in an apartment, so it's just clothes this year."

She sighed, as they walked into the clothing store, having not caught the name of it before entering. While the girls and Dickey looked around, she did the same, wondering how Elliot's shopping was going. Among the children's gifts, he still had to buy things for Munch, Fin, Alex, and Cragen. As she looked around, a dress caught her eye. It was simple, black, and looked as if it might go slightly past her knees. The hem was jagged, and she briefly wondered what it would look like if the owner of it twirled around. The neck was haltered and other than that, it was plain, but gorgeous.

"You ready to go?" a voice said, from behind her. Olivia turned around to see Kathleen, bags in hand, smiling.

"Yeah," she replied. "That was quick."

They headed out of the store, "We knew what we were looking for."

"Oh."

"Hey, Olivia," Elizabeth asked, "what kind of things do you like? You know, as a gift?"

"Oh, you guys don't have to get me anything."

"You got us something," Dickey said. "Didn't you?"

"Yeah, but you're kids," she replied. "That's what Christmas presents are for. Kids."

"And for the girlfriend's of kids father's."

Olivia smiled, "Anything you got me would be great." Clearly, that wasn't the answer they had been looking for. "Well," she sighed, "I do kind of need a new coffee pot..."

**XXXX**

When they met back up with Elliot, there were no bags in his hands. "I brought it all out to the car."

"What are we supposed to do with our bags?" Kathleen questioned, knowing her father wouldn't let them put their things in the trunk, if it already held their presents.

"Keep them in the back with you," he said with a shrug. "It'll all fit."

The look on their faces was clear, they didn't like the idea of being squished in the back with more than ten bags of clothes and gifts between the three. But, then again, there wasn't really another option.

"What's for dinner?" Dickey asked. They had made good time with shopping, but it had still taken over three hours, and he was hungry. "There's an Olive Garden down the road. We could go there. Or, I think there's a Chinese place close by, too."

Elliot sighed, "How about we drop everything off at home, then go out for dinner. Okay?"

The three children nodded, that sounded like a good idea to them.

"Oh, and don't think you're gonna be able to find out what you guys got for Christmas. I'm bringing the gifts to Olivia's house."

They groaned. That was totally unfair. The whole fun of Christmas was taking a sneak peak at your gifts.

"Come on dad," Elizabeth whined, "we won't look. We promise."

Elliot looked behind him, shooting the kids an incredulous look, "Why don't I believe that?" He pretended to think a moment, "Oh, I know. You said the same thing last year, and Christmas morning, we woke up to find all the gifts rearranged... That's a strange coincidence, don't you thin so, Olivia?"

She grinned, then shook her head. "I'm not gonna get involved in this..."

He shrugged, "Doesn't matter anyway. I'm either leaving them with you or Don."

The kids sighed, knowing they had been defeated. Elizabeth folded her arms across her chest, "Fine. Then I'm leaving_ your_ gift with grandma."

**XXXX**

**A/N: Alrighty, you know what to do. Push that review button and type me in a sweet little message! **


	26. Chapter Twenty Six

**Influenza**

**Chapter Twenty Six**

**Disclaimer: Not my show and not my characters.**

**XXXX**

It was Wednesday afternoon, with one hour to go until their short break for Christmas began. Christmas eve was on that coming Friday, then Christmas itself on Saturday. In all truths, Olivia would normally be working the next day, perhaps even on Christmas eve, had it not been for her new relationship with Elliot. In years before, when she had been single, with no family to spend the holiday with, there had been no reason for her not to work. And John usually passed up the days off, so she was never alone.

She had always been jealous, before, of Elliot. He had a large family to go home to, a reason to take off and enjoy the time given. On one occasion, she had dropped by on Christmas day, to give Elliot his gift. Kathy had invited her inside, although she had protested, and she was instantly brought back to her younger years. Christmas at her house had never been something important. Most of the time, her mother was too drunk to even remember to buy a tree. But on one occasion, before her grandmother had passed, Olivia had spent Christmas with the elder woman. It had been magical.

At the time, she had been nine years old. Her mother was busy with something that year, Olivia didn't recall what it was, but her grandmother, who at that time knew she would likely be gone within the year, offered to take her for the holiday, at her home in Connecticut. The flight had been short, paid in full by Donna (her grandma), and when she arrived at the house she had been floored.

The entire lawn was decorated in lights and false snowmen and plastic reindeer, a young child's dream world, as it were. Snow was forecasted for the eve of Christmas, as well as Christmas day itself, and unlike the snows of New York, there was promise that Olivia, then called Livia, would be allowed to play in it.

Her grandmothers house wasn't large by any means, but compared to her mothers two bedroom, one bathroom apartment, it was a castle. Four bedrooms, three baths, and a basement and attic to add on, it had been something out of her wildest dreams. The first time Olivia had ever been out of the city, and the first real home she had ever entered.

Her uncle, her mothers only sibling, although estranged, and his younger kids were also staying with Donna for the holiday. Her cousins, a boy of the age of five, and a girl of almost eight, were the only social contact outside of schoolmates Olivia had ever had. At her young age, still not at grips with her mothers drinking, Olivia was a loner, and had few friends.

The inside of Donna's house was amazing, and Olivia was instantly awestruck. A huge, looming tree stood in a corner of the majestic living room, equipt with large, comfy couches and a big screen TV, done up in snowmen for the occasion. When she walked into the house, Olivia had not wanted to leave the room. Her own living room at home was nearly bare, with one sofa, made of cracked leather, and the TV was small and only produced a black and white picture. It had been something like that of a fairytale, she recalled.

The bedroom that she stayed in had been even more beautiful. She shared it with her cousin, Amanda, and it held in it, two small, twin sized beds. The sheets were pink, the walls covered with butterflies and flowers. In her own room, back in the city, she had white sheets and no color on the walls. This, she decided in the very instant of her arrival, was so much better.

That had been, without a doubt, the best Christmas of her childhood. Less than four months after she returned home, her grandmother died, a victim of the cigarettes she had been addicted to since her Sophomore year in high school. Olivia didn't understand it then, but when she looked back on it, she realized that the only reason her mother had permitted her to go that Christmas was because of her grandmothers condition. Even still, she wasn't sure whether to be thankful that Serena had the compassion to allow her those few days, or upset that it took such a situation for her mother to allow her to leave.

When she entered Elliot's living room, those few years prior, she had been greeted by the smell of turkey in the oven. The kids were scattered about the room, checking out their new toys, laughing and joking with each other, all still in their sleep wear. Kathy had excused herself to finish cooking, and called out for him as she walked to te kitchen. He came down the stairs, dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a black wifebeater, smiling when he saw her. Dickey had immediately run to him upon his arrival, shouting out happily about the game boy he had received, and Elliot had picked him up in his arms, although at 9 the boy was much to old to be carried.

Dickey didn't seem to mind and he clung on to his father tightly, reciting his thanks over and over. After kissing him on the forehead, Elliot let him down, patted him on the rear and sent him back into the living room. It was in that moment, that Olivia realized she would never have what he and Kathy did, and it had effected her so that he noticed, and asked what was wrong.

Nothing, she had replied, with a false smile. After handing him his gift, which was a watch, along with a picture of the two of them along with John and Fin at a NYPD picnic that spring. He had smiled warmly and hugged her chastely, then invited her to stay for an early dinner. She had respectively declined, stating she didn't want to impose, and without letting him pursuade her, left the house, taking one last look at the living room. When she got to her apartment, she pulled out her mothers old address book, found her uncles number, and called him. They talked for awhile, then she asked for Amanda's number. When she called her younger cousin, a male answered, identifying himself as Brad, Amanda's husband.

She talked to Amanda for over an hour. The woman, a little more than a year younger than herself, had three children, ranging from five to nine years old. Two boys and one girl, the girl being the eldest. When Amanda got around to asking about her life, all Olivia could say was her job took up most of her time, prohibiting her from having any real relationship.

They had kept in touch for a few months after that, but then lost each other since then. Olivia wondered how she was doing, it had been nearly four years since they had last talked.

"What'cha thinkin' about?" Elliot inquired, noticing that she had drifted off into her own world.

Looking over at him, still partly lost in her thoughts, she gave him a tight smile, "You remember that one Christmas, when I dropped by your house?" she questioned.

"Yeah. You wouldn't stay for dinner."

She nodded, "I was just thinking about that... strange as it may sound, it made me realize a few things."

"Oh yeah?" he said. "Like what?"

"For one, I had fallen completely out of touch with my uncle and his family. For two, I was doomed to be alone for the rest of my life."

"Looks like you were wrong about that second one." he replied with a grin. "I didn't know that you had an uncle."

"Yeah. My mom's only sibling. He was five years older than she was, they hadn't spoken since he left for college. They had some sort of falling out, I never really knew the full details. He's got a daughter around my age. Amanda... I was thinking about how I haven't spoken to her in awhile."

"You gonna call her?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think I will..."

**XXXX**

"Hello?" a young, male voice answered the phone, after the third ring.

"Hi..." she replied, "this is Olivia Benson, is your mom there?"

Recognizing his mothers maiden name, Matthew called out for his mother, who picked up a phone a few seconds later. "Hello? This is Amanda."

"Amanda," she greeted, "it's Olivia."

"Oh, wow!" the woman said. "Hi, it's been a while, huh?"

"Yeah... it has been. How are you guys doing?"

"We're great, the kids are ready to open all of their gifts, which they're not going to do." The tone of her voice told Olivia that at least one of Amanda's kids were in ear shot, and the groan that she heard afterward confirmed her theory. "What about you?"

A defiant smile was brought to Olivia's lips, "I'm doing good- great even."

"Oh?" she questioned. "Do I detect happiness in your voice?"

"Maybe..." Olivia replied with a smile. "Just a little."

"Does this happiness have anything to do with a member of the male species?"

"It might..."

There was a squeal that caused Olivia to wince, and then a long, fast sentence that was so loud Olivia had to hold her phone from her ear.

"You're gonna have to say that again," Olivia said, laughing slightly. "But slower."

"You met somebody!" she said. "Tell me all of the details."

"Well, I didn't 'meet' him, I've known him for awhile. Years, actually."

"And?"

"You remember me telling you about my partner from work."

"Yeah, why?" she asked. "What's he have anything to–" there was a pause. "Oh Olivia, don't tell me that! He's _married._"

"Correction," Olivia replied. "He was married. Now, he's divorced."

They talked for more than two hours, talking about the events that had gone on in the last four years. Marissa, Amanda's daughter, had gotten braces, Benjamin, her youngest son, who was now nine, had broken his arm climbing a tree, and Matthew her middle child, who was eleven, was a star soccer player. Olivia told her of some of the major cases she had worked, dumbed down a bit, and the events that had led to her new relationship with Elliot.

"I have to meet his man," Amanda said finally. "He sounds too perfect to be true."

"Trust me," Olivia said with a laugh. "He's nowhere near perfect, he's got a temper, he's impatient–"

"Yeah, but from the way you're talking about him, he's prince charming."

"What about Brad?" she questioned. "He's not a knight in shining armor?"

"Not hardly." Amanda replied, laughing to herself. "But he's close enough for me."

"Well, I've got plenty of vacation time stacked up, if you want to come out to the city or we could come out to Connecticut."

"I'm sure the kids would love to see the Big Apple. They've got spring break in March, maybe we could do something then."

"That sounds good to me."

"Okay, well, we'll have to work the details out later, because I've got to get started on dinner."

"Alright."

"Bye, Livia."

Smiling at the name, which she hadn't been called since she was eleven, Olivia replied, "Goodbye Mandy."

**XXXX**

"So did you call her?" Elliot asked, as they talked on the phone, later that night.

"Yeah. We had a nice conversation. She and her family are going to come out in March to see me..." she paused, "and you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. She thinks your Mr. Wonderful or something. I told her she was dead wrong, but she didn't believe me. Guess she has to see for herself."

"Ouch." he replied. "That hurts, Olivia."

"No it doesn't," she told him. "You're ego is too big to be bruised by a non-serious comment like that. And you know it."

"Yeah, well, since I'm dating superwoman, does that mean one day I get to be superman?"

Olivia smiled, "Maybe... if you're lucky."

"Oh, I think I'm pretty damn lucky. I've got you, don't I?"

"I like to think that it's the other way around, and it's I who have you."

"That's because you're way too possessive."

"You know you like it."

"I'd like it more if we had a spot on the naughty list."

Olivia rolled her eyes, "You're still thinking about that, huh?"

"Oh, not just thinking, planning."

"Well, whatever you come up with isn't going to work. Just to let you know."

"I think you're wrong about this one."

"We'll see."

"Yes we will," he replied, and she could hear him smile through the phone. "Tomorrow night."

**XXXX**

**A/N: Well, you know what to do! Please, please review! I live (and write) for feedback. The more the better.**


	27. Chapter Twenty Seven

**Influenza**

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

**Disclaimer: The show and the characters are property of Dick Wolf, not me. You want to use anything, ask him, I don't have any claim on it. And I don't make a profit off of this, I have to work for my money. Blah. **

**XXXX**

He was in the living room, putting the finishing touches on the trees and making sure all of the gifts were in separate piles, with their respective stockings sticking out in front of the three stacks. The stockings were the key to everything. With big, bold, blue lettering on the fuzzy white tip, it told the owner of said object where his or her presents were located. Moreover, stockings were always opened first in the Stabler family. Filled with candy and fairly useless objects, such as make-up or CD's, they were the least-expensive, therefore, the least important.

His kids were due in any minute, and Olivia not long after that. She had shied away when he invited her to be there when they were dropped off, not sure she wanted to intrude on that part of their holiday, and really sure Kathy held a grudge against her, although the woman did no such thing. Instead, she had opted to arrive around half an hour later, giving the kids enough time to unwrap the presents their father bought them. She then would give them the things that she got for them, hoping they wouldn't hate any of it too much.

Looking at his watch, he figured they were maybe five minutes or so from arriving. Everything was ready and in order, so he sat down on the couch to catch his breath. His break didn't last long, because only a minute or so later, there was the sound of a key in the lock, then the turning of the door knob and the door itself open. Strange that they hadn't needed to have him buzz them in.

Dickey and Elizabeth immeadietly made a mad dash for their presents, almost bypassing the stockings before their father instructed them to slow down and open them first. They groaned a bit, sore that they were still made to follow the tradition, and knowing their mother would make them do the same the next morning, but went for the stockings all the same. Kathleen smiled, hugging her father close, and wishing him a Merry Christmas Eve. She then went to join her sister and brother, allowing her mother and father time to chat. Even though neither really wanted to.

"Hi," Kathy greeted, looking over at her children with a loving smile. "How long are you wanting to keep them for?"

"Well," he replied with a sigh, "I'd like to keep them here all night, but I was guessing about two hours, so they can get home and into bed by eleven."

She nodded, looking around the living room, "Where's Olivia?"

Knowing she would bring up the subject, he merely smiled, "On her way. She wanted to give me some time alone with the kids before coming over."

"Oh," Kathy said. "That's very thoughtful of her."

"How's Ben?"

There was a momentary frown that passed over Kathy's face, but as soon as it had appeared it was gone, and Elliot got the impression she had been attempting to hide it from him. "He's great, spending the evening with his daughter, actually. She's a year younger than Kathleen, they seem to be getting along fine... Nikki, is her name. He's coming over for early dinner tomorrow. You'd like him, if you met him. He was in the Army, retired at 40."

"How old is he now?" Elliot asked.

"Forty two. Owns a restaurant down the street from mom's house. Kathleen's getting a job there."

"That's nice."

She nodded, looking back at the kids, and addressing them, "I'll be back in a couple of hours. Don't make too much of a mess around here, alright? If you do, you're staying until it's clean and going straight to bed when you get home."

_Home._ Elliot thought. _This should be there home._

"Have fun," Kathy said to Elliot with another slight smile. "I'll see you later. Tell Olivia I said hello."

"You can tell her yourself when you pick up the kids."

"Oh," she replied. "Of course. I didn't think about that. Bye, Elliot."

It struck him then that she hadn't called him 'El' since the divorce. Not that it bothered him. Now the only person who did call him by that nickname was Olivia, and he was glad it was reserved simply for her. "Goodbye, Kathy."

He wasn't going to call her 'Kath'. Who knew, maybe that nickname was reserved for only Ben now.

**XXXX**

"Wow," Kathleen said in surprise when she opened the ring box. Having already opened her smaller presents, which included gift cards from various stores, and some CD's she had asked for, this was nothing like she had expected. "It's beautiful dad."

"I'm glad you like it."

There was a squeal of surprise from Elizabeth's end when she opened her present, "It holds 6 CD's!" she exclaimed. "Than you daddy!"

He smiled and looked over at Dickey, who was busy reading the info on the backs of his games. "What about you, son?"

"They're great, dad..." he said, a bit confused. "But I have a PS2... not an X-box."

Elliot winced, knowing that Kathy was going to wait until the next morning for him to see the X-box, even though Elliot had bought him games. "I know, Dickey. You have to be surprised in the morning when you open up the X-box at your grandma's place, alright?"

His face lit up, "Sure!"

The buzzer went off around that time, and Elliot pulled himself up from his comfortable spot on the couch to answer it. Not surprisingly, it was Olivia. He buzzed her in, and went back to his seat. She had a key, so he wouldn't have to wait for her to let her in. She could just do so herself.

"Are you ready to open your gifts now, dad?" Elizabeth asked, looking at the CD's she had gotten in her stocking.

"Yeah," he replied. "In just a second. Let's wait for Olivia."

The kids nodded in agreement, and there was a short silence while they looked over their gifts once again. They would get more in the morning, so they weren't worried about how few things they had received, no matter how selfish that may have sounded. A few moments later, the door opened and Olivia came walking through, holding a few paper bags in her arms. "Can somebody help me with these?" she asked, looking pointedly at Elliot. He got off of the couch and took one from her arms, leaving her with the other.

"Set these down here by the tree," he told her, walking over to the spot where they should go. "The kids want me to open my gifts now."

She nodded and followed him, leaving her bag next to the one he had, then heading to the couch and taking a seat next to him. The kids then gave him their gifts, the normal kid things, clothes. They had also all chipped in, and this was a surprise to Olivia, and bought him a weekend stay at a B&B... for two. It was at a place inland, but not too far away that they wouldn't be able to make the trip. Olivia looked at it sheepishly, suddenly positive she would have to talk with Kathleen about what the girl thought.

While they turned back to their gifts, Elliot leaned over and whispered into her ear, "Don't worry, you'll be on the naughty list a plenty of times before then."

**XXXX**

It was just after ten o'clock when Kathy arrived to pick up the kids. Olivia stood in the middle of the living room, feeling out of place as the five talked about the gifts the children have got– and Dickey let it slip that he knew about the X-box, Kathy was not shocked– and their excitement for the next morning. When Kathleen mentioned the sweater Olivia had bought her, Kathy looked over at her, a bit surprised.

"You didn't have to get them anything," she said, as a sort of afterthought.

Olivia smiled at the kids, "I know, but I wanted to."

Kathy nodded, turning back to her children, "Well, we should start for home. Traffic is crazy out there, and we've got to get back to the house before eleven or your grandmother will have a heart attack."

They said their goodbyes and hugged their father, and Elizabeth even hugged Olivia, while the other two just said goodbye and thank you, then they left. Olivia was slightly surprised at the non hostile manner in which Kathy treated her, she had expected the woman to be cold and unforgiving. For what she needed forgiveness for, Olivia hadn't figured out, because she had done nothing. Then again, Elliot had spoken of Kathy's acceptance of their relationship– but Olivia had figured it was all an act, to keep him from knowing that Kathy still cared for him. More than Elliot did for her.

"Finally," Elliot joked with a smile, "we're alone." He winked, as he took her in his arms, "You know what that means?"

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, "No... but I guess that means you're gonna be telling me, huh?"

He nodded, with a grin, and said, "I get to open _my_ presents."

"You think?" she asked, with a smile of her own. "But no. You can open them in the morning, like all the other good little boys and girls do."

He scrunched up his face, as a child would, "That's not fair."

"Neither is surrounding me with your ex-wife." she mumbled.

He sighed, "That wasn't a choice, Liv. I couldn't just tell her she couldn't come in because you're still uncomfortable around her."

"I know," she replied, "it's just I feel like an outsider when you guys are all together. Like I'm missing out on the most important part of your life, and it bothers me."

"Look at me," he commanded, so she did. "I love you, and because of that, you'll never, ever be let out on any part of my life. Okay?"

She nodded, "Alright."

"So I don't even get to open one thing?" he questioned, letting her out of his arms.

Rolling her eyes, she sighed in defeat, "Fine. One thing."

"Good." he said with a grin. " Then, I pick you."

Giving him a look that plainly said she wasn't an option, Olivia went over to the bag she had left. In it contained his gifts for the next morning. She grabbed the smallest box, and handed it to him, "I know it's kind of an impersonal gift and all, but you said you needed one–"

He opened the box, and smiled, "You're right," he said, taking out the watch, "I did. This is really nice." He put it on, "I'll have to make sure not to beat it up like I do all the others."

"You'd better." she said sternly. "Now can I open something?"

"Sure." he said. "You can open me." A grin spread over his face, telling her of his intentions, as if she hadn't already known.

"Something other than that." she said with a sigh.

"You're no fun," he pouted, taking out a long, thin box and handing it to her. "I know you said you didn't want any..."

She opened the box, and nearly gasped. Inside was a string of small, creamy-white pearls, "Oh... wow."

"Do you like them?" he questioned.

"Are you kidding?" she asked, looking up at him surprised. "They're beautiful."

He let out a sigh of relief. "I know how you normally feel about jewelry, but I saw these, and... I thought they'd look perfect on you." He smiled, "You wanna try them on?"

"Yeah, sure," she told him with a nod. He took the necklace from her hands and stood behind her, clasping the necklace in the back, then kissing her neck, just above where the pearls rested. She shivered from the sensation, and fingered the necklace. "These are wonderful," she told him once again. "Thank you."

"Go look in the mirror," he told her, nodding towards the mirror hanging on the wall. She did so, and was a bit taken at how perfectly they fit and the simple beauty of the pearls. "I don't think I've ever owned something this beautiful." she told Elliot, turning around to face him.

"I figured so," he replied. "You really like them, right?"

"Of course I do." she reassured him, turning back and looking at herself in the mirror. "I just don't think I have anything to wear with them."

The devious grin had returned, and Olivia felt a chill pass down her spine, "Who said anything about wearing them with clothes?"

**XXXX**

**A/N: Well... it's kind of a cliffhanger. You have to wait some more to see about the naughty list, anyway. But, aside from that, please review! And, I'm sorry about the wait, I was out of town for a couple of days and didn't get a chance to do any writing, and I've got to work every day this week. Blah. But hey, I need money. So... review, please. You should all know by now, lots of feedback means quicker updates!**


	28. Chapter Twenty Eight

**Influenza**

**Chapter Twenty Eight **

**Disclaimer: Nah, the show isn't mine, and neither are the characters. Blah.**

**A/N: Okay... the naughty list, that's not all Elliot's cracking it up to be. Mostly, it's just him joking with her. She argued with him on the subject, and he took that and ran with it. He's not going to try and pressure her or anything, it's just an inside joke that they have, and Olivia knows that just as well as he does. I didn't mean to give anybody the wrong impression with it. **

**XXXX**

_Christmas Eve_

_11:36 PM_

_Stabler residence _

"_Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings."_ the TV claimed. Olivia yawned, switching positions on the couch, as she and Elliot waited for the movie It's a Wonderful Life to end.

"I still can't believe you've never seen this before tonight," Elliot said, still in slight disbelief.

She shrugged, "I've never really had a real Christmas before, Elliot. At least not as an adult, hell... not even as a teenager. Before tonight, I never had the occasion or opportunity to see it."

He snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. It was hard for him to imagine how she had been treated while growing up, being from such a large family himself. Second to oldest, younger than his only brother, he was normally the one to watch his two sisters, aged four and six years his junior. When his brother went to college, the year of Elliot's twelfth birthday, Elliot became the honorary babysitter, and never got a moments peace before his sixteenth birthday, when his youngest sister turned twelve, and thus had to watch her younger sister.

In any case, though, Elliot had been the protector of his sisters. His father, a cop just as he turned out to be, was almost always on the job. That led his mother, a shorter woman of only 5'2, weighing no more than a hundred and five pounds, to watch the children. When his sister turned fourteen, during his senior year, and decided she was old enough to date, he was the one who warned away her first boyfriend, a guy he knew well, who had a thing for younger, inexperienced girls. Rachel had hated him for more than a month after, but when her friend started dating him, only to be dumped after he got what he was after, she was thankful.

The fact of the matter was, Olivia was an only child, most of the time ignored while her mother was passed out drunk on the couch, or shacking up with a new guy in her room. Elliot had been a part of a loving, large, devout Catholic family, and didn't know the loneliness that she often felt. "Well," he replied, holding her closely to him, "that's no matter anymore. Christmas around here is always an event. You'll see."

She grinned, resting her head on his shoulder, "I already have, Elliot. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

The TV faded to black, then the credits began to roll. "So," he said with a sigh, as he clicked off the TV, throwing the remote to the side of the couch. "Twenty minutes until Christmas."

Olivia couldn't help but smiling, "Oh yeah? Looks like your naughty list plan isn't turning out so well."

He shrugged his shoulders, "There's always next year– and besides, this one's not over yet."

She arched an eyebrow, lifting herself up on her elbows, "Might as well be," she told him, "I'm exhausted."

"Yeah," he admitted grudgingly, "so am I."

"Well," she told him, "we'd better head to bed before Santa Clause gets here, huh?"

"Oh yeah," he replied, "wouldn't want the big man to skip us just because we've not gone to bed yet. That would be tragic."

Shoving him playfully, she got up from the couch, grabbing hold of one of his hands and pulling him with her. "Come on, I'm tired, we've got the weekend off, and I intended to sleep at least nine hours straight."

He grumbled a response, but followed her into his bedroom anyway. So what, he hadn't gotten her on the naughty list that night, but there were other days. And besides, he was a romantic at heart, and when they finally did get their names on the list, it definitely wouldn't be planned.

**XXXX**

When Olivia woke up in the morning, daylight was streaming in through the curtains, casting an orange ember on the dark wood floors of Elliot's bedroom. His arm was draped around her protectively– or possessively, but she preferred the former over the latter– and the softness of his regular snores was filtering through the air. That it was Christmas morning was a vague recollection in her mind, and she didn't pay much attention to it, much less do anything to acknowledge it. However, she did come to the conclusion that this was the best Christmas she had ever experienced so far.

A glance at the alarm clock to her right showed her that it was just after eight in the morning. A bit earlier than she would have liked to wake up, but still a good eight hours of sleep, give or take ten to fifteen minutes. Much better than most nights, when she was called in early for work, or didn't get into bed until well into the morning hours.

His head was hidden in her back, and she could feel his breath through the sheer fabric of her tank top. His fingertips gripped her arm softly, the touch reassuring him that she was still there. It occurred to her how strange it was that he was a cuddler, since he did his best to live up to the "tough guy" routine when at work, or anywhere else, for that matter. Not that it was something she minded, oh no, exactly the opposite. She preferred that he cuddle, if only so that she didn't feel awkward when she did.

As the clock clicked to 8:11 AM his breath turned regular, stronger from waking. She turned in the bed to face him, meeting his bright blue eyes with a smile. "Good morning, sleepy head," she whispered to him, as he yawned and stretched, in a attempt to wake himself further. "It's only a little after eight..."

"That early?" he asked, disappointed as she had been.

She nodded, and stretched her arms out as well, "You wanna eat breakfast first, or wait until after we finish off the presents."

"Well," he replied, sliding out of the bed, "there aren't very many presents left, so we might as well do those first."

"Okay," she said, following him out of the room and into the living room, and sitting down next to him in front of the Christmas tree. She reached out for the smaller of the two boxes she had for him, handing it to him, and telling him to open it first. He did the same, handing her the smaller of the two boxes that he had left for her.

"Then you can open this one first." he told her.

They both paused for a second, waiting for the other to begin opening their gift first, before growing impatient and tearing into the wrapping at the same time. Olivia's box was slightly larger, so it took her a moment longer to get her's open, and when she did she was slightly confused.

"Wow..." was all she could say. They were heels, black, and very strappy. They were beautiful, she admitted, but Elliot of all people knew she didn't wear high heels, if only because she had nothing with which to wear them. "Thank you." she said, in a questioning tone.

He laughed, "Just wait a moment, and you'll understand." he promised, as he looked back down at his gift. "This is wonderful, Liv. Thank you."

It was a large picture frame, that held ten different pictures, some big, some small. A few were of the NYPD picnic, with him and Olivia, along with Fin, John, and Cragen. There were a couple of him and Olivia together, since his divorce, but most were of him and his children, throughout various stages of their lives. It had no particular shape to it, and would take up most of any wall, but all of his were bare, so space wouldn't be a factor.

"Okay, now can we open the others?" she questioned, impatient to find out why she needed heels. He smiled, picked up the other box, and handed it to her. With a grin of her own, she took the box, then gave him his.

"Geeze," he grunted, "what do you have in here? Bricks?"

She rolled her eyes and began to unwrap the present, and he followed her lead. He got his open first, and looked over at her with a smile, "A laptop?"

Olivia shrugged, "Have you seen yours lately? You, mister, have some serious rage issues."

"I know how much laptops cost, Olivia, are you insane?"

"Now, see," she replied, "I would be, if I didn't have a friend who works with Dell, and who got me a really good deal on a slightly used computer."

"It's used?" he asked.

"Not like you're thinking." she assured him. "You know, when you got into the shops, and they have the tester computers? That's what yours was. It was on the shelf maybe a month, Mark cleared the hard-drive, stripped the memory, all of that, and it's as good as new, and three hundred dollars cheaper." She shrugged and opened her box.

When she saw her gift, she actually did gasp. "How did you–"

"Kathleen noticed you looking at it when we were at the mall," he replied. "She said you were 'totally taken'. Kathleen and Liz also helped me pick out the shoes," he admitted, as she took the dress out of the box. An envelope fell onto the ground, and she looked up at him, as if to ask what it was. "Open it." he told her.

So she did. Taking out the tickets, she was shocked, if not confused, "I don't understand..."

"You always said you've never learned how to dance," he told her with a shrug. "I figure, if you're going to have the perfect dancing outfit, then why not have the occasion to use it."

"How long is the course?"

"Six weeks, one night a week, two hours a night. It's a couples only thing. I'll warn you though, I'm not the greatest dancer, so this isn't going to be a piece of cake."

She let out amused chuckle, "I can't believe I'm going to be taking dancing lessons. Wait..." she looked at him, incredulous, "do I have to wear the heels to the lessons? Because, I'm not sure if I can even walk in them without twisting an ankle."

He laughed himself, "Let's make sure you can walk in them, and dance fairly well, before we put two and two together."

Sighing in relief, she replied, "Thank God."

"One condition though," he told her. "Fin and Munch, they don't hear about this, at least not until after the lessons are over."

She gave him a look, as if to ask if he was serious, "Are you insane? I don't want them to know, either. _You_ know I can't dance to save my life, but the subjects never come up with them before, and I'd rather they not know."

He nodded, "Your secret is safe with me."

**XXXX**

"Olivia?" he called out from the living room. "Are you not changed yet?"

"No!" she yelled in reply. "Give me a minute, why don't 'cha?"

"I've already given you fifteen."

He could hear her groan from the bedroom, and then the click of heels on hardwood floors. "Elliot Stabler, I am going to kill you for this," she mumbled loud enough for him to understand, as she opened the bedroom door and walked out into the livingroom.

"Now why would you want to go and do a th–" he stopped his sentence short, when she came into view. After a few seconds of silence, she cleared her throat to get his attention, "Yeah... I, uh..." he let out a deep breath. "Wow."

"Looks okay?" she asked, smoothing out her dress nervously.

"You're kidding right?" he questioned, getting up from the couch. "You look amazing."

Remembering her earlier thought about what the dress would do if the wearer were to spin in a circle, she did exactly that. It flared out as she twirled, and she nearly tripped in her heels, and had to right herself quickly, if not she would have fallen. "Oops..." she said with a sigh, "guess I need a little more practice, huh?"

He walked over to her and pulled her into his arms, fingering the pearls around her neck. "You are the most amazingly gorgeous thing I have ever seen."

She couldn't help but blushing, but couldn't come up with an appropriate reply, so instead she simply kissed him deeply.

When she pulled away he grinned, "Well, if that's not a thank you, I don't know what is."

**XXXX**

**A/N: I hope nobody is disappointed. Anyway... please tell me what you think of it so far! I've said it before, I live for feedback! It's what keeps me writing.  
**


	29. Chapter Twenty Nine

**Influenza**

**Chapter Twenty Nine**

**Disclaimer: Nah, the show and the characters don't belong to me. That's Dick Wolf and all those cooperate types claim to fame, not mine. I only have these stories.**

**A/N: I know very little about dancing, in general, so if I get something wrong, I'm sorry!**

**XXXX**

Olivia sighed deeply and looked up at the building, nervousness fluttering in her stomach. She was really doing this, she realized, as Elliot shut off his car, looking over at her with a sly grin. He was looking forward to these lessons, why else would he have bought them for her? He was a better dancer, she knew, he had been married for years, so a basic knowledge of dancing had been required. But when it came to her, she hadn't been dancing more than five times in the last five years. And even then, it had been nothing extravagant, not like the lessons were going to include.

"You ready?" he asked, pulling his keys from the ignition.

"I don't really have much of an option, do I?" she questioned, looking up at the building again. "I mean, they're already bought and paid for."

"If you don't want to," Elliot told her, "we can go back home."

She shook her head, "No... let's do this."

He nodded, opening the car door and walking around the side to let her out. Stepping out onto the sidewalk, she pulled her coat tightly around her frame and leaned into his side for added warmth. He shut the door behind her, brought his arm around her waist, and led her up the sidewalk and into the building. It was two floors up, and there was a wait at the elevator, so they opted to take the stairs instead.

Stopping outside the door to the studio, he paused and looked over at her, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

She nodded, reaching for the handle, and twisting it open. When they walked into the room there were already a few more couples gathered around, chatting with each other. They looked up at the sound of the door being opened, but went right back to their earlier activities when they saw it was just another couple. Looking around the room, Olivia felt the butterflies in her stomach quicken their pace. She was not a dancer.

They found a secluded area of the room, and Olivia continued her evaluation of the others around her. Thankfully, none of them had worn dresses or skirts, something she summed up to as weather related, since it was the dead of winter, two days away from the start of 2005. Like her, most of the women were wearing jogging pants, some even had on cotton pajama bottoms, and the men were simply wearing jeans, like Elliot.

He helped her out of her coat, hanging it up on the rack along with his own. It was a bit warm in the room, so she pushed up her sleeves and leaned up against the wall, which was cool to the touch. He leaned against the wall beside her, looking at her with slight amusement. "Just think, after tonight, we only have five more sessions."

She snorted, and opened her mouth to reply, when the door opened and a medium height woman, dark auburn hair to her shoulders, and a warm smile entered. After glancing around the room for a moment, she too shed her coat and left it on the hanger. "Bonjour!" her noticeably French accent spread throughout the room, causing nervous smiles to appear on most of the women's faces. "Bienvenue, Je suis Caroline."

For a moment, most in the room looked panicked, surely this woman would not be speaking French for the entire lessons. With a knowing look, and a well placed chuckle, Caroline entered into the room, "I am your dance instructor."

Thankful that the woman spoke perfectly fluent English, the couples chattered lightly for a moment, before once again turning their attention to Caroline.

"We will meet six times in the next six weeks," she continued, "two hours a night. In our time together, we will be learning five dances, the Foxtrot, Waltz, Tango, Cha Cha, and Rumba. On our last meeting, we will review all that we have learned. Today, we begin with the Foxtrot."

**XXXX**

"Okay, everybody facing each other?" Caroline looked around the room, at the seven couples standing face-to-face. "Bon! Now, the male will step forward with his right foot, while the female steps back with her left." The couples did as told and Caroline once again began to instruct, "Alright... now the male will take a step forward with his left foot, left side leading, and prepare to step outside your partner."

The meeting progressed as such, and in the end, Olivia and Elliot left with a few sore toes and bruised egos, but then again, so did most of the couples. They had gotten the basic knowledge of the Foxtrot down, and Caroline had informed them that on their last meeting, which would more than likely last for longer than two hours, they would be reviewing all the dances they had learned. Until then, she suggested, they should keep practicing what they had learned.

That hadn't done any extra dancing that night, basically because they were both too exhausted to do much of anything, but they made plans to the next night, and perhaps even a bit New Years Eve. There was going to be a party, for the members of the 1-6, but they hadn't confirmed nor denied their intent on whether or not to attend. Olivia claimed she would rather have a quite evening at one of their apartments, watching the ball drop in silence, together, like Christmas. Elliot was willing to do anything to make her happy.

They parted ways for the night, Elliot dropping Olivia off at her place, then returning home, since his children were staying over. Since they knew about the lessons, Maureen having been the one to suggest them in the first place, it wasn't hard to sneak away for a couple of hours, and Kathleen had promised to make dinner and put on a movie for the twins, before ushering them off to bed at ten.

When he got home, his middle child was passed out on the couch, and woke slightly at the noise of his entrance. When he sat down on the couch next to her, she peaked out through on eye to look at him, then closed it, satisfied that it wasn't one of the twins breaking curfew. He suppressed a chuckle, then pulled the cover she was using up over her shoulders, and kissed her on the forehead. "Goodnight, sweetheart." he told her quietly, getting up from the couch.

"G'night daddy." she replied, before slipping off, once again, to the land of dreams.

**XXXX**

There were only five more minutes left in the year of 2005, and Olivia and Elliot were curled up on her couch, coffee cups discarded on the table in front of them, blankets pulled up tightly around their bodies. It was snowing outside, nothing too heavy, but enough that there would be at least two inches covering the ground by the morning. Not that it mattered, both had the day off, in light of the holiday, and the strange occurrence that both had somebody to spend it with.

"Olivia?" Elliot asked, earning a low 'hmm' from the woman lying in his arms. "When would be a good time for me to re-ask the moving in question?"

She turned slightly to look at him, a small smile dancing across her face, "Oh... I dunno, a couple of weeks, one month, tops."

"But not yet, huh?"

Shaking her head, she replied, "Nah. Not yet."

"Because we're taking things slow?" he said, more of a question than a statement.

"As slow as the situation can call for, I guess..." she answered.

"Situation?"

"We've known each other for the better part of a decade," she declared. "We were partners before an item. Friends– best friends, who knew almost everything there was to know about each other. The 'getting to know each other' stage was already passed up when we got together, but those were simply superficial things. I knew about you as a father, your years in the Marines, almost everything about how hard it was for you being the second oldest– when your brother went off to college, and you had to watch after your sisters. Those things. You knew about my mother, lack of a father, my E! True Hollywood story about growing up in an alcoholic household, having to clean up after my mother and ignore the things she said in her drunken rages. But neither of us could even begin to comprehend what the other was like, romantically, completely open, like we do now. That's what we've been taking time with, getting to know the other side of each other."

He took her speech in, and was preparing to reply when the ten second countdown began. Both immediately turned their attention to the television screen, watching as the ball began to drop. It occurred to Olivia how strange it was that they were watching it on TV, when, just a few miles away, it was happening in Time Square, and more likely than not, if they turned off the program, they could hear it live, and she reached over and pressed 'mute', just in time to hear the roar of 'five, four, three, two, one! HAPPY NEW YEAR" filter in, even through the closed windows.

She turned to look at Elliot, still wrapped up in his arms, and smiled, "Happy New Year."

He grinned, his hands running up her back, and ending up tangled in her hair, "Happy New Year, Liv," he whispered, before he pulled her closer to him, crushing her lips with his own. She couldn't help but smiling into the embrace, as she wondered when the last time she reigned in the New Year this way was, but those thoughts instantly vanished as he deepened the kiss, stealing her breath away.

Her hands disappeared under his shirt, as she fought against pulling away from the embrace. In the end, lack of oxygen won out, and she was forced to break the kiss, albeit it grudgingly. She took a second to regain her breath, kissing him softly before pulling back once more, staring into his eyes, and shivering, not because of the mid-winter weather, rather the intense look in his eyes, and the knowledge that her own held the same smoldering intensity.

Olivia reached up-- somewhat surprised that she was lying with her back against the seat cushions of the couch, Elliot hovering above her– and ran her fingers along his jaw line, before pulling him back towards her, and into another kiss. "You know," she said, in-between kisses, her nails raking up and down the length of his back, which she was again, surprised, to find was bare. "I think... it may be time... to speed things... up a bit."

His grin was confirmation enough for her, and as he tugged at the hem of her shirt she realized, that she had never had a New Years Eve quite like this.

**XXXX**

Olivia rolled over in her bed, peeking through one eye to glance at the alarm clock on her night stand. It was a brighter red than she realized, and she had to squint from the change in color, before reading that it was just after three o'clock in the morning. That was great– she had only been sleeping a little over an half an hour.

The cell phone next to her alarm vibrated once more, sending off a buzzing sound that reminded her of why she had woken in the first place. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that Elliot was still asleep, and had to fight the urge to figure out a few new methods of waking him. She reached for her phone, glancing at the caller ID before she answered it. Frustrated when she saw that it wasn't a number she knew, she flipped open the phone, figuring it could be any one of the victims she handed out her card to, or various cops who had her information. "Benson," she said quietly, hoping not to wake her sleeping partner.

"Olivia?" the voice asked, breaking through what was clearly tears. "Is my father there?"

"Maureen?" the woman asked. "Honey, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the college student promised, "I just need– can I please talk to my father?"

"Of course," Olivia assured her, not even caring whether or not this confirmed certain aspects of her relationship for the girl. "Hold on just a second." She turned around, pulling the covers up over her bare body, and gently shook him. "Elliot," she whispered, "Elliot wake up."

He groaned, trying to turn away from her, but she grabbed his jaw gently, "It's Maureen... I think something's wrong."

That seemed to get his attention, because the next thing she knew he was sitting up straight in the bed, searching for the phone. She handed it to him, and he had a choppy conversation with his daughter. "Where are you right now?" he finally asked, his face grief stricken. There was a pause, and then, "Of course not, baby. I'm on my way." He hung up the phone, and handed it to Olivia, before sliding out of bed and searching for his clothes.

"Elliot," she asked, "what's wrong?"

He looked over at her, as he pulled on his jeans, "It's Maureen," he stated. "She and Kathleen were just in a car wreck."

**XXXX**

**A/N: This chapter was kind of a pain in the butt to write. I'm glad it's finally done and over with! Speaking of done, I think that this next chapter, Chapter 30, will be the last one. Either it'll be really long, or I'll cut it short and have an epilogue. I don't know. Anyway. Please let me know what you think, as always. I still live for feedback!**


	30. The END!

**Influenza **

**Chapter Thirty**

**Disclaimer: Not my show, and not my characters.**

**Authors Note: I know, I can't believe it's over either! But, keep in mind, when I began this story I was thinking ten chapters, fifteen at the most, not double that! I am extremely proud at where it went, so much so that I'm thinking about a possible sequel. It's nothing definite yet, only a possibility, and if I do it won't be near as long as this... but I've got ideas turning in my head!**

**Thank you to all my reviewers, whether you've been with me from day one, or just found the story. You guys totally rock.**

**XXXX**

As soon as the words left his mouth, and registered in her mind, she was out of the bed, searching for her clothes, just as he had done. He began to protest, almost telling her to get back in bed and sleep some more, but he knew better than to try and boss her around– she had just as much of a stubborn streak as he did. Instead he waited for her to dress, and then they left the apartment in silence.

There was little talking on the drive to the hospital that Maureen and Kathleen were at, either. Instead, Olivia simply took his hand in hers, and held on tightly. He squeezed it reassuringly, although they both knew that the contact was for his benefit, and she returned the favor. "They'll be fine," she stated simply, and other than that, the ride was silent.

He sat in the car for a few minutes after turning it off, staring at the entrance to the ER, seemingly frozen in his seat. She pulled her hand out of his, brushing the tips of her fingers along his jaw, "They need you, Elliot..." she whispered. "Sitting out here in the parking lot won't change what happened."

He let out a deep, ragged breath, and pulled the keys from the ignition. It was taking him all he had to keep from breaking down, she could see it, and it was tearing her apart. As he opened the door to the car, she did the same, walking faster than usual in order to fall in step beside him. He snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him, his hand resting on her hip.

The woman at the front desk looked as tired as she felt, her eyes were heavy, dark from lack of sleep, and she looked up at them with a noticeably forced smile. Then again, Olivia herself was never in a cheerful mood whilst working at four in the morning. Elliot explained the situation to her, his voice strained and thick with hidden emotion, and the woman looked up the information.

"Your daughter has already been moved to a room," she informed him. "It says here 356."

"Daughter?" he said, picking up on the singular use of the word. "I was under the impression both were injured."

"I have a Kathleen Stabler in room 356," she told him with a sympathetic look. "That's all that I know. Perhaps your other daughter wasn't hurt, and is with her sister."

That seemed to take a load off of his shoulders, he nodded at the woman, thanked her for her help, and then took off with Olivia for the elevator. Luckily they were in the right wing of the hospital, so they didn't have to travel far to find the room. Big, black numbers, arranged in the order of three hundred and fifty six, stood out against the wooden door, telling them that they had found where they needed to be.

Taking another deep breath, he grabbed the knob of the door, twisting it and pushing on the door. It opened quietly, like he had wanted it to, and the two of them entered the dark room. Although the last thing he wanted to do was wake his daughter after she had been injured, he flipped on the light switch and watched as the room went from pitch black to the dingy yellow of florescent lights.

Maureen, sitting in a chair scooted up to the bed, her head resting by her sisters knee, was the first to notice the change in lighting. She looked up, her eyes barely open at first, then wide and somewhat excited when seeing who had entered. "Daddy!" she almost yelled, but thought better of it, since Kathleen had only just fallen asleep. Her voice came out as a whisper, but a relieved one at that.

She was out of the chair instantly, launching herself into her fathers arms, holding on as if her life depended on the contact. Like maybe, if she let go, reality would set in, and things would have been much worse. "I was so afraid!" she told him, as she pulled out of the embrace slightly, enough to where she could face him. "I'm sorry, daddy! It wasn't my fault..."

"I never said it was, sweetheart," he reassured her. "Why don't we go out into the hallway and you can tell me about it– so your sister can sleep some more?"

The twenty year old nodded, holding onto her father as they left the room, much like a child would after seeing a monster in their closet. Although the situation was terrible, Olivia was thrilled to see this side of him– the protecting father. Oh sure, she had seen him around his kids hundreds of times, but never in such a situation, where they thrived for his attention and affection. At that moment in time, Elliot was the only thing that could comfort Maureen, and it was a beautiful, albeit it terrifying, thing.

They didn't stray far, there was a waiting room just down the hall, and that's where they sat. Olivia opted to face the father and daughter, give them some time together, while they learned of what had gone on earlier.

"Kathleen was staying at Sarah's house tonight– at least, that's what she told me. I guess Sarah's older sister, who's in college, was having a party at her dorm, and invited her sister to come along. What this girl was thinking asking a seventeen year old girl to a New Year's party is beyond me, but that's not really the point... At around eleven thirty Kathleen called me on my cell phone. They had only been at the party half an hour and she was starting to feel uncomfortable and wanted me to pick her up.

"I wasn't far away, so I told her to stay on the phone until I got there– and she did. I'm very proud of the way she acted in the situation, even though I'm not condoning her going to this party in the first place. At around fifteen before midnight I got there and we left. We tried to get Sarah to come with us, but Angela, her sister, wouldn't allow it. Oh sure, she can drink all night if she so desires, but when it comes to going home with her best friends sister, that's too dangerous! Come to think of it though, maybe it's good that she didn't.

"We didn't want to miss the ball dropping, so we went to a little café down the street, got some coffee and watched the news for awhile. Left at a little after midnight, got stuck in traffic for over two hours, and finally got started on the way back to my dorm. Kathleen didn't want to go home, and to tell you the truth, I wasn't going to tell about what happened. I was confident that she had learned her lesson, and relieved that she had called me, and I wasn't going to make the situation worse.

"At just a little after 2:15 we were stopped at a red light. It turned green, the car ahead of me took off, and I followed– only to have this drunken grandpa smash into the passengers side of my car! I didn't know what was going on at first, all I heard was screeching tires and scraping metal, then Kathleen screamed and my head hit the steering wheel! My seat-belt broke!

"Next thing I know I wake up to see all these people standing around the car, yelling at each other, call 9-1-1 and all that stuff. I passed out again, and didn't wake up until I was in the ambulance on the way over here. I would have called you earlier but they said they had to check me out before I could contact anybody. I'm fine, I had a minor concussion, and a few bumps and bruises... but Kathleen's broken her arm and bruised three ribs, not to mention shattered her right hand into thousands of pieces. She's going to have to have a lot of surgery, dad... but they said that if I had been even a few inches from the spot I was, they might have been forced to amputate her arm. It was so scary..."

Elliot's arms was wrapped tightly around her, and she was leaning her head on his shoulder, and for a few minutes after that, none of them spoke. But the silence finally gave way, when he asked if she had called their mother.

"Not yet," she admitted. "I wanted you to be here first... she's going to be so upset with me!"

"No she's not baby," he assured her. "She'll just be thankful that you're both alright."

Maureen let out a shuddering breath, and sat up, nodding. "I'll call now... you should go and wake up Kathleen. She was asking for you."

He nodded, kissed her temple, making sure to stay away from the deep purple bruise that was already making its presence known, surrounding a shallow gash, and got up from the uncomfortable chair. Looking at Olivia, he smiled lightly, and with his eyes asked her to stay with Maureen. Already feeling like an intruder in a very private time, she nodded, and moved over to sit next to Maureen.

"Would you like to use my phone?" she asked, as Elliot walked off.

The college student smiled, "Thank you." she said, taking the phone from her. After making her phone call, which was kept brief, probably because Kathy was busy doing the same exact thing Elliot had, she looked over at her and half-smiled. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Olivia replied, having a good idea of what the girl was going to ask.

"You and my father..." she said, trailing off. "I mean, I called his place first, then his phone... and he was over at your house, so–"

"Yes." she stated simply. "The answer to your question is 'yes'..." Thinking it over, she continued, "But just tonight– I mean, we haven't before..." sighing she gave up. "Can we keep this between you and me for a little while?"

Smiling fully now, mostly because she had been right, Maureen replied, "Of course."

Less than half an hour later, Kathy arrived, the twins in tow. Elliot had long since called Maureen and Olivia back into the room, and when they entered, the couple were seated together in one hospital chair, Olivia on his lap, so that Maureen would be able to sit as well. Olivia almost got up from his embrace when they entered, but his arms held tightly onto her, and the woman that she was so jealous of– for having twenty years of life with him– had simply smiled in their direction, before going over to her daughters bedside and making sure she was really okay.

As she watched the two converse a thought crept into her mind, sending chills down her spine. Maybe, _just maybe _things were going to work out for a change.

**XXXX**

_Three and a half months later:_

She waited alone at the airport, sighing to herself as it was announced over the intercom that flight 216 from Norwhich, Connecticut would be half an hour late. Flipping open her cell phone, she pressed number one on her speed-dial and was instantly connected with her partner's phone. After two rings he answered, in his usual, gruff tone, stating his last name and waiting for the person at the other end to reply. Although, he knew who it was already, thanks to the miracle of Caller ID.

"Hey," she greeted, still slightly surprised by the cheerful nature of her voice. That was going to take some getting used to. "Their flights been delayed."

"Really?" he asked, sounding as bummed as she felt. "How long?"

"Only half an hour– but that should give you some time to make it up here before it lands... that is, if you don't mind brining Kathleen along with you."

"Not at all, they were going to meet her anyway, right?"

Nodding to herself, she replied, "Right. So, how's her physical therapy going?"

"It's good– the hand's still giving her some trouble, but she'll get it down soon enough." he said something to Kathleen, and then returned to the phone. "So, what are you doing?"

She laughed to herself, "Standing in the middle of the airport, Elliot– what did you think I was doing?"

"I dunno– it's a pretty big airport, you could be doing anything."

"Well, I'm not... just sitting here talking to you."

"Well, there you go," he replied, she could hear him smile through the phone, "that makes me feel special. Out of all the different things you could be doing in the airport– shopping for magazines, getting a drink, fixing your hair– you're talking to me."

"_Fixing my hair_?"

"It's a possibility," he countered defensively.

"Yeah... sure," she replied with a grin of her own. "You're almost done there, right?"

"Mmhmm... why?"

"Oh," she said, "I just wanted to talk with you about something."

"Yeah?" he questioned. "What's that?"

"Nothing, really..." she said, hardly convincingly. He picked up on the tone and decided to press further.

"Hmm... then it shouldn't really matter if Kathleen and I make a stop at the mall on our way there. Comfort shopping, and all that fun stuff. Her hands been giving her a real hard time, she probably needs a few new outfits..."

"Ooh," she replied, "he threatens!" Her tone was playful, and her voice light, and she suddenly wondered who this person was flirting over the phone, and what had happened to her old self. Not that she wanted that woman back, anyway, this version of herself was a whole lot better.

"Hey, you know what my daughters are like when it comes to shopping..." he reminded her, half-serious, because it was true that his daughters took forever when it came to buying new clothes. "I wouldn't joke if I were you."

"Ah! But you're not me," she inquired, "are you?"

"Well, if I was we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we? Unless, of course, you were insane and had multiple personalities and I was one of them..." He paused for a brief moment, "You're not are you?"

She shook her head silently, sometimes she wondered about his own sanity. "No, El. I'm not crazy."

"Just making sure." he turned the conversation back to its original content, "So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"You remember when you asked when it would be a good time to re-ask me to move in with you?" she probed, sitting back in the uncomfortable, plastic, airport chair.

"Yeah... New Year Eve, right before– you said to wait about a month or so."

"Right," she replied, "you never asked again, you know."

"I didn't think you were ready," he told her. "I sense a point to all of this, somewhere..."

"Well," she stated, "I was just thinking... now is definitely a good time to ask me again."

**_The End!_**

**XXXX**

**A/N: Okay... so that is it. I know, kind of a cheesy ending, but I'm happy with it, and I hope you are as well. Like I said earlier– I may attempt a sequel to this, but I am not sure. Depends on my schedule and my muse. At the very least, I could possibly be persuaded into writing a short epilogue!I had a great time writing this story, and an even better time reading the reviews! Thanks for all your positive feedback, it really meant a lot to me. I hope you liked my story! **


	31. Epilogue

**Influenza**

**Epilogue!**

**Authors Note: Okay, so I was asked who Olivia was meeting at the airport, and the answer is, if you remember, from a couple of chapters back, around Christmas time, she had called a cousin of hers, Amanda. That is who she was waiting for, Amanda and her family.On a different note, wow! 405 reviews. That makes me tremendously happy. This story has gone so much farther than I thought it would, and I am so glad you guys liked it! Thanks for all the reviews, it keeps me going. You guys rock.**

**For the ones that have mentioned me continuing with other SVU stories, don't worry! As of the moment, I've got a brainchild. Hopefully it won't be long before the first chapter of it is out, but I'm not going to say anything other than that. I'll let'cha think a bit.**

**Anyway, I'm going to end this way long authors note and start with the epilogue.**

**XXXX**

It was early in the morning, the lack of light streaming in through the window was proof enough of that, and the clock besides the bed stating "4:21" just confirmed that notion. She groaned to herself, rolling over in the still unfamiliar King sized bed. Though asleep, he sensed the movement and laid a hand over her stomach, pulling her close to him. Smiling to herself, she closed her eyes, hoping to get a few more hours of sleep.

When they opened again, it seemed to be mid morning. There was light, but it wasn't too bright and he was still lying in bed with her. Their alarm had been set for 15 until 9, so either it was before then, or she had slept through the alarm and he had turned it off. Opening her eyes, she glanced around the near barren room. Boxes lined the walls, and dressers stood at odd angles, still waiting to be moved to their permanent positions. The joys of moving, she thought to herself, and realized that, oddly enough, she had never really moved before.

It had been almost two months since Amanda's visit. They wouldn't have waited so long, but her lease was almost up on the apartment, and they figured it'd be best to just wait it out instead of paying extra, like he was going to have to do. Since he hadn't even lived in his for more than a year he really didn't have any attachments to the place, but Olivia felt awkward leaving the place she had spent so much of her life in.

Their new apartment was a good size, three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The living room and kitchen were smaller, but that wouldn't be much of a problem. As it was, they normally ate out anyway, and they never really had time to watch TV or do things like that.

She turned over in the bed and looked at the sleeping man next to her. His forehead was creased and his brow furrowed and she wondered if he was having a bad dream. It was time to wake him up anyway, she decided, and she ran her fingertips over his jaw line lightly. The sensation took him from his sleep and he smiled groggily at her, "Morning," she greeted, kissing him softly.

"Good morning," he replied, sitting up in the bed and stretching out his arms. "What time is it?"

She glanced over at the clock, "Just after 8:30..."

He nodded, yawning, "You want something for breakfast before we start on the room?"

They had finished the bathrooms, kitchen and living room already, Dickey was in charge of his own room and the same thing with the girls. Elliot had moved the heavy things for them first, put them where they wanted them to go, and the rest was their choice.

Nodding, she slid out of the bed and pulled on her robe. The kids weren't there that day, but just in case, she didn't want to give them on an eyeful, though she had on a T shirt. He followed her out of the room, not bothering to put anything on, since he was already wearing boxers.

"Pancakes?" he questioned, heading into the kitchen, which was open to the living room, separated by a bar.

"Sure," she replied, sitting down on the couch and turning the TV to the news. She watched idly while he cooked, paying half attention to it, while at the same time focusing on the day ahead of her. It probably wouldn't take long to unpack everything in the bedroom, and they were already one forth of the way done. When that was finished, the apartment would be finished. They had plans for dinner that night, at a Italian restaurant that had opened up a few months prior, and then the next morning the kids would be dropped off by Kathy to spend the weekend with their father.

"Olivia?" he asked, looking through the empty space between kitchen and living room, "you still with me here?"

She smiled sheepishly by the fact that she had been caught daydreaming, and nodded. "Is breakfast done already?"

He nodded and she left the couch for the kitchen, where she got some pancakes and followed him to the dining room to eat. They finished their breakfast quickly, and then tackled the bedroom, which took over five hours to finally finish. After they had, they showered and got ready for the rest of the day. It was nearing May, and consequently bringing Kathleen's 18th birthday along with it.

Determined to find the right gift, they shopped for three hours, in eight different stores, only coming out with some clothes from Hollister and jewelry and other small gifts. Deciding they'd wait until they asked her what she wanted to get the big gift, which Elliot already had an idea was going to be lots of money, they went back to the apartment and got ready for dinner.

Dinner was satisfactory, but they both decided it wasn't as good as everyone was making it out to be. Sure, they'd come back a few times, but it wouldn't turn out to be somewhere they went at least once a month. The food was good, buy they were more of a pizza and take out kind of couple anyway.

As it neared midnight, Olivia was beginning to feel tired. She was laying on the couch, her head lying on his thighs, watching TV, something they rarely had the chance for. "This is nice," she mused, sitting up to look at him. "Being alone."

He smiled, there was seldom a day that they had completely to themselves. They had gotten the day of luckily, and the kids were with their mother, and they had had no interruptions. Lately, Munch and Fin had been coming over to check out the new place as it progressed, but they had known of the dinner date, so had decided to give the couple a day to themselves.

"Yeah," he agreed, "and the kids are going to be here bright and early."

Olivia nodded, she didn't care that they were going to be there, she loved the kids and was thankful for every minutes she spent with them. Kathleen and Maureen's accident had scared her more than she let on, since she had to be there for Elliot while they were at the hosptial, she couldn't break down or show worry while he was in the state he had been in. "You know that I like them to come over right?" she asked, just to be sure.

"Of course I do," he replied, "and they love that you're gonna always be here now."

"Really?"

He nodded, kissing her lightly. "Elizabeth told me the other day... that if she had to choose the perfect person for me to fall in love with, outside of her mother, of course, it would have been you from day one."

She grinned, snuggling up closely to him, and allowing him to drape his arm around her shoulders, and kiss her on the forehead.

Oh yeah, this was definitely nice.

AAAHHH-CHOOO!

_Uh oh._

**XXXX**

**A/N: And that's wrap. So this story doesn't have a marriage or proposal, or babies or anything, but it was never meant to. This is the beginning stages of their relationship, if I do do a sequel, that will follow them through the engagement and marriage and possibly baby era. So then, tell me what you thought of it. **


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